Love The Treason
by Canderous Ordo
Summary: Finished at last! A month after Sonic allegedly saw GUN equipment on an Egg Carrier during their last operation, Rouge races to uncover more proof of GUN sedition. And how does Nack get involved? Read on to find out!
1. Opening Infiltration

A/N:  Oi, peeps!  It's me, Blazing Mobile Suit Pilot, Garoad Ran!  It took me awhile, but I'm back with a vengeance!  This time, I'm back in my right mind!

Sonic:  Who can ever tell?

Garoad:  (rolls eyes) You're still sore about Three Days, aren't you.  Besides, in this story, there are all the big guns, explosions, and conspiracies to go around.

Sonic:  Speaking of which, why the hell did you make me, a confirmed bachelor and badass, and Amy an item?!  I have a reputation to keep!  I can't slow down!

Garoad:  Oh, just shut up.  You'll thank me someday when this is all said and done.

Shadow:  (wearing the gear he had in my first story) When can I finally ditch all of this gear?  The Ultimate Life Form should not have to wear this type of field gear!  It messes up my quills!  And you can't be a badass, faker!  I'm the resident badass around here!

Sonic:  Why you—

Garoad:  SHUT UP!!!  Now, on with this before I lose my patience!

And now, for the ages:

            Sonic:  21; Birth date:  01-27-82

            Knuckles:  21; Birth date:  11-12-81

            Rouge:  20; Birth date:  04-30-82

            Amy:  19; Birth date:  07-18-83

            Tails:  13; Birth date:  10-22-89

            Nack:  25; Birth date:  02-10-78

      **In late January of this year, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Rouge, along with SEAL Team 3, mounted a successful rescue mission of the defense heads of the U.S. and Russia over the Pacific Ocean onboard a Rakshasa-class strike egg carrier during Operation Blackbeard.  However, during the operation, Sonic, lead by an alive and clandestine Shadow, uncovers something troubling inside a hidden storage compartment:  deactivated GUN infantry droids.**

**      A month and a half later, after surveillance satellites fail to detect any suspicious activities from GUN, the CIA decides to send their best field agents to covertly inspect GUN warehouse facilities.  One certain crack operative, Rouge, is dispatched to Death Valley…**

            _Death Valley, California, U.S.A.  G.U.N. warehouse facility.  March 11, 2003.  2200 hours._

      "Agent Rouge to H.Q, I am approximately a half click away from my objective.  Now, preparing to ingress."  Rouge switched off her headset radio and looked into her night-vision goggles.  She was currently in some hills to the east overlooking the facility.  A razor-wire fence encompassed the entire perimeter of the facility, with a guard shack and the gate at the north end.  That would be her only way in… if she had to go on foot.  She also saw that the only light provided in the base were the floodlights on the warehouses, and on the office building, as well as the pale light of the half moon—well what was left of it since Eggman blew a big chunk out of it a little more than a year and a half back during the ARK incident.  She figured that if she flew over the fence and landed on the far side of the warehouses, the four or five sentries on patrol would be none the wiser.  With that in mind, she flipped up her night vision goggles, took some steps back to get a running start, ran full tilt, jumped, and glided toward her objective, easily clearing the razor-wire fence, and landing neatly on the nearest warehouse.

      Rouge carefully walked to a window on the roof and crouched down to look inside with her night-vision goggles.  She only saw infantry droids, and various GUN type UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle).  Nothing suspicious, there.

      GUN was the name of a weapons broker whose clientele were almost exclusively the countries of NATO, though the lion's share of their profits came from the United States.  Many politicians even considered GUN the fifth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and had a big enough navy, air force, and enough infantry to rival most countries' militaries.  So, when Sonic reported he allegedly saw GUN units on the now destroyed Egg Carrier _Rakshasa _a month and a half ago, it sent a shockwave throughout the top brass of the military and the government.  But, they wanted to be doubly sure, and that's why she's out here in the middle of nowhere.

      She looked ahead to the office building.  That was where she needed to be.  There had to be an inventory kept of all of the units in storage, as well as the ones slated to go outbound.  Wasting no more time, she clandestinely made her way across the far side of the rooftops.  She jumped over the alleys between warehouses until she was at the last warehouse, then double-checking for any nearby security personnel before neatly jumping off the roof to creep to the main office building in the complex.

       The front door had been securely locked, so she had to climb the walls for a window to slip through.  She eventually found one unlocked on the third of four floors above the ground, and she slipped inside, and into a hallway, the light fully revealing the all-black special ops type garb she was sporting.  Immediately after, she heard a security guard come around the corner.  Judging from how close the footsteps were, she didn't have time to hide somewhere, so she crept to the corner to lie in ambush.  Her other option was to use her silenced Beretta M9 handgun, modified to fire non-lethal knockout rounds since her rules of engagement prohibited her from using lethal force.  However, the modifications diminished the firearm's accuracy, even at close range.  She would run the risk of missing her shot, then the security officer pulling out his gun and braining her.  Not to mention if she were compromised, she was ordered to abort her mission and return to civilization.

      The guard turned the corner, only to be met with a knee to his abdomen, knocking the breath out of him, and he collapsed to the linoleum-clad floor.  He tried to get up, but Rouge's knee driving into the small of his back forced him prone, and Rouge also painfully twisted his right arm behind his back while grabbing her gun to point it at the guard's head.  "Don't move, or you die."  The bat threatened.  Of course, killing him was a bluff since her gun only fired knockout rounds.  "Try to scream, and you die.  Just answer my question, and you'll live."  Scared to death, all the guard could do was nod in compliance, and Rouge continued.  "I'm looking for the shipping and receiving records for this warehouse.  Where are they?"

      Still mindful of the gun pointed at his head, the guard sang (figuratively).  "D-down the hall, a-a-and around the corner!  I-I-it's the fifth door to the left!  Please don't kill me!  I have a wife, and a kid on the way!"

      Rouge sighed.  "Then, you signed up for the wrong profession."  A chop to the back of the head later, the guard was out cold, and Rouge dragged his unconscious mass to the nearby janitor's closet.

      Continuing her search, Rouge followed the guard's directions with her gun at the ready, weary of the possibility that the guard may lead her into the guard's lounge.  She rounded the corner, counting off the doors until she eventually reached her destination.  Picking the lock was a simple matter for the CIA operative, and she opened the door to an unlighted room.  Deciding not to attract more attention with more light, she flipped down her night vision goggles, and closed the door quietly.  "Hmm, this must be accounting."  Rouge observed.  She could see a catalog of some sort on a desk, perhaps for M16 rifles.  "Shipping and receiving schedules would probably be on someone's computer, which will probably make a lot of noise booting up.  I can't afford to make my presence known.  Maybe there's something else I can use…" She went to the first desk she saw and attempted to open a drawer.  It was locked.  Picking the lock was a simple matter though, and she started to thumb through the files, careful not to make much noise.  What she needed wasn't there.  She moved to another desk, thumbing through the file drawer when she got there.  "Hmm, accounts payable… not that.  Probably be accounts payable."  With that, she quietly closed the drawer and continued her quarry at another desk.

      Through her night-vision goggles, she could clearly make out the words "Accounts Receivable" labeled on the drawer.  Bingo!  Any transactions between G.U.N. and Robotnik, Robotnik's billing address, whatever that may be, as well as the terrorist's/mad scientist's name on any document in G.U.N.'s possession would be the proverbial smoking gun.

      However, as she was picking the lock on the drawer, she heard fairly distant voices coming from the hall, and she froze.

      "What are you doing here at this hour, Gibbons?"  Someone asked, probably a security guard.

      "I just remembered that I forgot some important paperwork inside my desk.  I'll be in and out in five minutes."  A male voice answered.

      Rouge shrugged and continued her quarry.  There were plenty of offices off of this particular hallway.  The odds of the person heading into the one she was in was about one in about twenty, right?

      The doorknob started to jiggle as the worker made to unlock the door.  "One in about twenty, huh?"  Rouge silently muttered, going for her gun and quickly scanning the room for a hiding spot.  She was a little too late as the door opened, the light flooding in from the hallway washing out her field of vision in her night-vision goggles, and she was forced to flip them back up, cursing to herself vehemently.

      "What the hell?!"

      "Dammit!"  Rouge instinctively brought her gun to bear on the apparent accountant and fired a knockout round.  The dart-like projectile embedded itself at the base of the man's neck.  It only took a couple of seconds for the tranquilizers to take effect, and the accountant collapsed in a heap in the doorway.  Still, that didn't mean she was out of the woods.  A shout of "Gibbons!" along with the sound of someone running on the linoleum, as well as the sound of the guard calling for backup on his radio let her know that her cover was likely compromised, meaning she'd have to abort her mission.

      She looked around the room for an exit.  There were no windows, and no second door.  She could now hear more than one set of footsteps running down the hall.  She didn't like her chances of surviving if she went out the door in a hail of small arms fire.

      The first guard arrived at the doorway.  The first thing he saw was that Rouge had a gun on her.  Acting on the impulse that his life was in danger, the guard pulled out his handgun and fired two shots at Rouge.  Fortunately for the bat, she sensed the act of aggression coming, and ducked before the rounds could do her any harm, and retaliated with a knockout round from her own handgun, just as the guard was ducking behind the wall.  The mini-dart pierced the guard's upper arm.  The tranquilizers wouldn't take effect immediately.

      Ducking behind a desk, Rouge happened to take a look at the bullet holes in the back wall.  Is that cardboard?  No, wait a second!  It's drywall!  Perhaps she did have a fighting chance of escaping capture.  Looking up towards the doorway, she could see the guard had now gone to sleep from the dart.  She heard more footsteps approach on the linoleum.  This would be her only chance to escape this room; she'd be a fool not to take it.  So, after backing up to get a running start, she charged the drywall in a full tilt sprint with a flurry of kicks, succeeding to puncture a man-sized hole in the drywall, and she dove through it with little difficulty, just ahead of the security reinforcements entering the room.

      As Rouge climbed to her feet, she heard a klaxon go off.  Great, now the perimeter of the facility knew they had an intruder.  A quick peek out a nearby window revealed guard dogs, probably Dobermans, along with human and anthropomorph guards, who were holding either M4s or AR-15s (civil model of either the M4 or the M16.  I forget) by the guard shack.  "So, this is the north side's defenses?  I do not want to mess with all that."  With that, she ran to the east side of the building; where she originally entered.  Behind her, she heard more security guards round the corner and open fire at her.  However, small arms fire wasn't that accurate at that range.  She gasped in sudden pain when a lucky shot clipped her right shoulder.  True, it wouldn't be a serious wound, but still, it hurt like mad, and she clutched at the wound with her left hand.

      She rounded the next corner to see her entrance window still open.  She peered out the window:  just skeleton defenses compared to the north side.  This she could get by without much fear for her life.  She climbed through the window, and taking a deep breath, glided into the air amid some rifle fire, hoping she'd be able to clear the razor-wire fence, and hoping she wouldn't get shot down.

      Turns out she did manage to clear the fence, but only by inches.  Still, she wasn't out of the woods yet.  She could hear car engines starting up.  "Dammit!  Motor patrols!  I gotta get outta here!"  She flipped down her night-vision goggles, and skirted into the desert night, with a search team just missing her.  She had a CIA-issued Cessna plane in the hills about three quarters of a mile away.  If she could get to that and into the air, she'd be okay.

      A motor patrol had chased Rouge for about a quarter mile, until rough terrain, and Rouge's speed forced them to give up.  One patrolman spoke into his radio.  "Guard shack, this is motor patrol Alpha 1.  The target has evaded into the hills.  Request aerial support to continue chase."

      Two seconds later, the answer came back.  "Alpha 1, return to base.  We have a positive I.D. on the intruder:  Rouge the Bat, CIA."

      The officer gasped.  "CIA?  But, why are they trying to infiltrate us?  We're the U.S. military's biggest contributor!"

      The officer in the guard shack seemed to ponder how to answer for a moment.  "I can't tell you the details, but the situation is not as it seems.  We cannot overplay our hand here.  Break off the pursuit, and return to base.  And we'll file a report."

      The patrol officer sighed in exasperation.  Something's seemed to hit the fan, and details are classified.  He hated when this happened.  "Roger that."  With that, he turned his Humvee around, and returned to the G.U.N. compound.

      Rouge actually didn't stop running until she was a little bit past her Cessna.  Her shoulder was searing with pain from the gunshot wound she received, and she doggedly clutched at it, leaning on a boulder to raggedly catch her breath.  She took her now bloody hand off of her wound to get to her radio and switched it on.  "Boss, this is Rouge.  Do you copy?"

      From the other side, Staff Operations Officer Scott Dowell's voice clicked in.  "Loud and clear, Rouge.  What's your status?"

      Rouge took a deep breath.  It wasn't everyday when a mission of hers was a complete failure.  "Mission scrubbed.  Bad luck.  An accountant compromised me.  I'm wounded, but I did manage to egress to the Cessna.  It's not bad though."

      "Damn!"  Dowell thought for a moment.  "Alright, return to Vegas.  You need to get that wound taken care of.  We just gotta hope our other operatives did better.  Dowell, out."  Click.

      Rouge switched off her radio and replaced it in its belt holster.  If this debacle got out to the public, CNN would be all over it.  And if G.U.N. got a positive I.D. on her, no, she didn't want to think about the fallout on that.

A/N:  Okay, that's a wrap on that scene!  Just had to get the ball rollin'.  Please leave your comments and such in review form.  Peace!


	2. Debriefing, Proving Grounds, And a GUN t...

A/N:  Heh heh.  I know you're all wondering, "What the hell happened to Garoad?!"  Well, I finally hit a mental wall.  Well, I should be over it now, thanks to… music!  That's right, music!  I'm typing this up with the Command & Conquer:  Generals website's music on my speakers.  It has that special ops feel.  Special thanks to English Bloke, GeneralDragon, and Ryuko Dragonhalf for reviewing, and to those nameless people who enjoy my fics.  You're the reason why I'm still writing.

Disclaimer:  Yeah, I forgot about this in the first chapter, so here goes, effective for the entire fic.

Yuji Naka-sama and Sega own Sonic The Hedgehog, and all related properties.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics owns the F-16 Fighting Falcon.  Same thing for the F/A-22 Raptor.

Don't know who owns the rights for the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, but I sure don't.

And now, on with it!

_McLean, Virginia U.S.A.  CIA Headquarters, conference room A.  March 28, 2003.  1025 hours.  EST_

     "So, nobody uncovered anything?"  Thomas Wade, Director of the CIA, asked the twelve operatives, and their respective superior sitting at the round conference table for mission debriefing.  The fifty-year-old stout officer stood up from his chair, straightening out his gray suit jacket as he paced.

      "That's the story, so far."  Amanda Wilhelm, a lone Staff Operations Officer answered.  Her subordinate operative's Cessna plane allegedly crashed three minutes after takeoff from the mission objective.

      "And to top it off, we have us a dead operative, two missing, and one lame."  Wade motioned to Rouge, whose right shoulder was still bandaged underneath her business suit from a gunshot wound she suffered during her efforts in the operation.  "Not to mention that GUN may now know we're poking around their business.  Though on the plus side, the media hasn't caught wind of this."

      "If they managed to get a positive I.D. on me, or anyone else."  Rouge countered.  She was being cautiously optimistic.  "Besides, if they really aren't dealing with Eggman, they won't have anything to worry about if we poke around."  She also hoped that those GUN units Sonic found on the _Rakshasa_ two months ago were stolen instead of purchased.  Speaking of which…  "Or maybe those units Sonic allegedly found on that Egg Carrier were captured?"  She suggested.

      Wade raised an eyebrow.  "Why are you defending GUN, Bat?"

      She shrugged, wincing a bit from the dull pain of her wound.  "I'm not, sir.  I'm just throwing around some possibilities."

      The Director seemed to consider the possibility for a moment.  "Well, we can only go on the general consensus, until proven otherwise.  Since on site checks have failed, we'll have to rely on electronic surveillance.  We'll have to monitor phone calls, e-mails, and online bank accounts."

      "But, GUN may be anticipating this, and might use the old pen and paper entirely."  Scott Dowell, Rouge's immediate superior, countered.

      Wade nodded.  "I realize that.  Right now, GUN is on alert.  So for the time being, we can't send any operatives out in person.  Behind the computer will have to be our only method for now.  Stay alert for future developments.  If there is nothing else, you're dismissed."  With that, everyone filed out of the conference room.

      Huffing, Scott Dowell drew a cigarette out of his pack, sticking the filter in his mouth before lighting it.  This situation wasn't good, to have an enemy within your own nation.  He was just relieved that the media hadn't gotten wind of this failed operation.  And what if G.U.N. had gotten a positive I.D. on anyone?  Then, they would know the CIA was on to them.  And then what?  They may lay down their cards and openly defect to Robotnik.  And with conflict with Iraq, and North Korea looming, having a third front open up on you is isn't good to say the least.  Dowell took a long drag from his cigarette, exhaling the smoke out the window.

      "Y'know, boss.  CIA Headquarters is a smoke-free environment."  Rouge said, sidling up to him.

      Dowell smirked.  "Nor are we supposed to be playing minesweeper on our computer."

      She chuckled.  "Ooh, touché!"

      "Alright, I'll tell you what.  If I put out my cigarette, I won't write you up for wasting time."

      Rouge rolled her eyes.  "That was just during a period of downtime, but okay.  Deal."  With that, Dowell stubbed out the Marboro, and tossed it out the window.  "And that's littering too!"

      "Oh, you don't wanna know all the dirt I have on you!"  Dowell laughed, leading Rouge back towards their desks.  A sudden thought popped in his head.  "Y'know, I wonder how Sonic and his gang are doing.  I haven't heard from them since Operation Blackbeard."

      Rouge sat down at her desk.  "Y'know, I got an e-mail from them a few days ago.  Apparently Sonic and Amy are now an item."

      "Wha?!"  The bloodhound couldn't believe that.  Sonic was probably the most diehard bachelor ever known.  "What did Amy do, hold'em at gunpoint?!  I thought he'd stay single to the bitter end."

      The bat chuckled.  "I know, hard to believe, isn't it?  Tails' new plane is now being flight-tested at Homestead Reserve Air Force Base.  And, Knuckles is on hiatus to Angel Island, probably to make sure the Master Emerald was still there."  And that same emerald was what caused her and Knuckles to meet.  She thought back to when Knuckles saved her life in space when she slipped off a girder.  She had been too shocked to think to glide to safety, and out of instinct, and seemingly for the safety of the shards of the Master Emerald she held, he had caught her, and pulled her back on the girder.  But, was there something more to that story?  After all, he had apologized for hurting her afterwards.  Well, she would like to think that there was something more to it.  Maybe she'd ask him about it if they ever met up again.  She didn't think that even Knuckles was that callous to just say he did it for the emerald.  Well there's hoping.

      "Alright, let's get back to work before our superiors yell at us."  With that, the two began going over various reports.

            _Homestead, Florida.  Homestead Reserve Air Force Base, nearby airspace.   1755 hours.  Same day._

      "Control tower, this is Bravo 01.  I'm ready to begin the test on your order."  Tails spoke through his pilot's facemask.  He had been anticipating this day for months:  the OpEval period of his Hurricane air dominance fighter.  All of his hard work and diligence on this project will all come down to a series of flight performance tests, weapons tests, and systems tests.

      "Roger that, Bravo 01."  The female flight control officer replied.  "Mako 01, drop about half a click behind Bravo 01.  We will begin simulated air combat momentarily."

      Tails looked to his left to see the lone Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon steadily decrease its airspeed to drop half a kilometer behind his aircraft.  Tails took a deep breath in anticipation.  This was it.

      "All units, be advised.  In the interest of safety, the simulated deck for this test is 3,000 feet.  If you drop below 3,000 feet, we'll think there's a problem, and will abort this exercise."

      "Roger that."  Both fighters replied.  They were at 12,000 feet now.  They'd have plenty of room to maneuver.

      "Okay.  Bravo 01, we are switching your IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) to hostile.  Beginning simulation in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… begin simulated dogfight!"

      From the tarmac, video camera in hand, Sonic watched the two jets dance in the sky, their wings drawing sharp contrails in the clear sky, the now familiar scent of burning jet fuel wafting into his nose.  The CO (Commanding Officer) at Homestead was generous enough to allow them to use the base, and the Makos reserve fighter squadron as the testing grounds for the Hurricane.  It made things easier for them, since Tails didn't have to go between Homestead and 'The Strip' for jet fuel and such.  From his radio, he could hear the radio chatter from the exercise.

      "How are you holding up, Bravo 01?"  The flight control officer asked.

      It took a moment for Tails to respond, as he was in the middle of a high-G maneuver.  "All systems green, control."

      "Mako 01, how's his radar profile?"  The flight control officer inquired.

      "I'd say his profile is comparable to an F/A-22 Raptor."  

      Sonic thought that was good.  According to Tails, the resident Aircraft Guru, the radar cross-section of an F/A-22 Raptor was as small as a bird.  Also, from his vantage point, he saw that the Hurricane had a significantly smaller turn radius than the F-16, at low speeds anyway.  And at low speeds, the F-16 is definitely not a slouch.  Tails had been able to shake off the Falcon two or three times.  Whether it was because of the planes' performance, or the pilots' performance is up in the air for debate.

      "Low speed maneuverability is well above average."  The F-16 pilot remarked.

      "Mako 01, try to lock on with Sidewinders."  Tails said.  "I need to make sure all of my instruments are working."  Okay, so far, so good.  He knew his radar warning lights were working, since Homestead's AA (Anti-Aircraft) guns, flak guns, and SAMs (Surface to Air Missiles) were constantly trying to lock on to his signature.  But, the F-16 pilot had never tried to attain IR (infrared) lock.

      "Copy that, Bravo 01.  Maintain your heading."  With that, Mako 01's F-16 maneuvered to Tails' six o'clock, flipped a switch on his onboard computer to switch to the heat-seeking Sidewinder missiles, and watched as the aspect lock diamond traveled across his HUD (Heads Up Display).  Eventually, he was locked on, and he could hear the warning alarms in Tails' cockpit through the radio.

      "All systems green.  All instruments are working."

      The flight control officer's voice cut through the radio.  "That's enough for the first test.  Mako 01, you may RTB (Return To Base).  Bravo 01, stand by for air-to-air weapons system test."

      "I copy."

      From the ground, Sonic nodded in approval.  "So far, so good."  He smiled.  He found it funny that a mere kid was able to build a cutting edge fighter jet and have it operational in mere months, but the largest aerospace companies in the world would take about a decade to get a product into service.  And by then, the technology would be outdated.

      He suddenly heard his cell phone ring to the tune of 'The Mickey Mouse Song (?)'.  "What the—never mind.  I know who did it."  He muttered, reaching into the lower left pocket of his cargo shorts to extract his phone.  "Note to self:  never let Amy play around with your cell phone."  He took his phone out and looked at the LCD screen to see who was calling.  He smiled.  "Speak of the devil…" He hit the speak button.  "Hey."

      "Hey, yourself."  Amy said cheerily on the other side.  Two months ago, he probably would've said something gruff like 'What do you want?!', or just an irritated 'What.'  My, how things have changed…

      "Where're you at right now?  I thought you'd be here by now."

      Amy sighed on the other end.  "Well, I would if there wasn't a massive accident on the way.  Anyways, I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

      Sonic shrugged.  "In that case, you might as well meet us at the pad 'cause they're wrapping up testing for today."  The roar of jet engines made him look towards the runway.  Tails' Hurricane had touched down, and was taxiing toward a hangar.  "Yep.  We're done."

      A beat.  Then he spoke again.  "Hey, you wanna do something tonight?"  He asked.

      She blinked.  "Like?"

      Sonic shrugged, throwing up a random suggestion.  He didn't feel like hanging around his pad on a Friday night.  "I dunno.  How about dinner and a movie?  Since Tails'll be going over his flight test results, it'll just be the two of us."

      "Oh?  Knuckles isn't back yet?"

      Sonic remembered that Knuckles had taken a short hiatus to Angel Island to check up on things.  "Nah.  He left me an e-mail saying he'll be back tomorrow."  He shrugged.  "Oh well, more food for us.  Anyways, how 'bout it?  Maybe we go to Fridays, then go see 'Tears Of The Sun?"

      Amy laughed a little on the other side.  "I don't have a problem with Fridays, but the movie is still up for debate!  Besides, haven't you seen that already?"

       Sonic rolled his eyes.  "Oh, come on!  The movie's that damn good!"  And he pretty much knew what she wanted to see, given how much she.  "Trust me, Ames.  'How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days' doesn't hold a candle to 'Tears Of The Sun.'"

      "But we haven't seen 'How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days' yet!"

       "Yeah, well… I have amnesia.  I forgot what it was about!"  He joked, sensing that his chances of seeing T.O.A.S. were becoming bleaker and bleaker.  "Alright, fine.  We'll see your movie."  Besides, he wasn't above a little theater hopping, even if he was the savior of the world many times over. 

      "Woohoo!  So, I guess we'll meet up at the one at Coral Gables?"

      He shrugged.  "Sure, head there now.  I'm hungry now."

      "Right.  See you there.  Love ya!"

      Sonic rolled his eyes.  It made no difference if he knew the feeling was mutual; his response of rolling his eyes was automatic.  "Love ya, too."  Click.  Still, even if he and Amy were an item for a little more than a month, he still blushed a little when he said those three words.  Breathing a sigh, Sonic set to reset his ringer back to the regular generic ring, not even noticing Tails behind him until the fox cleared his throat.  Startled, Sonic wheeled around.  "How long were you standing there?"  He asked, a little annoyed.

      "Long enough."  Tails smirked.  He had already changed out of his flight suit, and back into his blue shorts and white T-shirt.  "So, you were gonna leave me at the pad while you and Amy got it on?!"

      Sonic blushed heavily.   "Riiiiight.  Anyways, you know nothing."  

      "Yeah, yeah."  Tails said.  "Just bring me some scraps from Friday's, since I can't cook and all."  He added, trying to get some sympathy.  He was tired of eating cereal for dinner, even if it was Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  He had been ever since he started testing the Hurricane.

      Sonic huffed.  "Alright.  I'll tell you what.  You can come with us, if you help me convince Ames to go see 'Tears Of The Sun.'"

      "Bet!"

            _San Francisco, California U.S.A. Thomas Bloodman's mansion, conference room.  1500 hours PT.  Same day._

      Overlooking the bay area, on a cliff, an eight million dollar mansion rests, home to the leader of G.U.N., Thomas Bloodman.  At forty-nine years old, he showed no visible signs of aging, except perhaps, a gray hair here and there in his jet black slicked back hair, and goatee.  He remained in the same shape, physically and mentally; he was when he played quarterback at San Diego State.  And the same calculating, unwavering, and decisive mindset that helped him make first team All-Conference for three consecutive years, also helped him climb to the top rung of the biggest weapons broker in the world.

      Now, he sat at the head of a long, rectangular table, along with other members of G.U.N.'s board of trustees, hearing the fiscal reports of this past week from the CFO (Chief Financial Officer).  Apparently, in preparing for conflict with North Korea and Iraq, the U.S. had ordered three more full divisions of Grizzly battle tanks, worth more than $200 million.  Bloodman was no open advocate of war, but G.U.N. made money because of war.  After all, they were weapons brokers.

      As the CFO finished his report, Bloodman spoke up.  "Now, is there anything else we need to discuss?"

      A beat.  Then, a wolf anthropomorph spoke up.  "Yes, actually there is, Mr. Bloodman.  There had been reports of a string of break-ins at many of our western warehouses.   There have also been rumors that the CIA have been—"

      "Those rumors are not unfounded."  Bloodman said calmly, eliciting a buzz of murmurs from the other trustees.

      "How can you be so calm about this, Bloodman?!"  A female fox trustee demanded.  "If the CIA discovers our dealings with Dr. Robotnik, we could be charged with high treason!  We could—"

      "Ladies, gentlemen, I know full well the consequences of our transactions being discovered.  But, if they do find out, do you actually think the U.S. is in a position to do anything about it, with war with Iraq and North Korea looming?  The CIA was smart enough to keep this out of the public's eye.  Think about it, we have four independent carrier battle groups, a force as powerful as the old Soviet Navy at its height during the Cold War.  President Dugan would be a fool to challenge us at this moment.  Fighting a full-scale war on three fronts is political suicide.  However, rest assured, the information about our transactions are classified level Omega.  Nobody but us has access."

      "But, sir.  Omega level access means nothing to CIA hackers or infiltrators."

      Bloodman hesitated for a bit, a rarity.  "Let me worry about the CIA, ladies and gentlemen."  Bloodman said, once again calmly.  "If there is nothing else, then this meeting is adjourned."  With that, the board of trustees filed out of the conference room, and out of Bloodman's mansion.

      Thirty minutes after the meeting, Bloodman looked out of his study's window, through the blinds.  Yeah, sure he fully knew about the CIA's activities.  Two and a half weeks ago, it was reported that one Rouge the Bat was sighted at the Death Valley warehouse site, where she was reportedly in the accounts payable files.  The accounting department there might have been careless enough to not put the record of their transaction with Dr. Robotnik in a secure location.  And this is why he had this contingency plan.  He hadn't thought he needed it, but the CIA was getting too close for comfort.  He needed this investigation to stop, and one way to do it is take out the leader of said investigation.

      He was interrupted in his thoughts when his study door opened, and his secretary, a human woman came in.  She appeared in her mid twenties with short strawberry blond hair that framed stunning blue eyes and a youthful face, a navy blue jacket with matching skirt and high heels, 5'6" without the heels.  If Bloodman wasn't happily married already, he was sure he'd either be having an affair with her, or had one already.  And he knew that beauty had the power to grab someone's attention, which is what you needed to do to become a good salesperson, or negotiator, which is why he called her in here.  "Mr. Bloodman?  You wanted to see me?"  She asked, standing by the door.

      Bloodman turned around, moving to sit in a chair.  "Yes, Sarah.  Please have a seat.  Would you like anything to drink?  Maybe some tea, or wine?"

      She shook her head, moving to sit in the seat across the coffee table.  "No, thank you."

      "Alright then.  We'll get down to business."  He presented a full file folder.  "My contacts within the FBI got this for me."

      Sarah took a look at the name on the file:  Nack the Weasel.  After giving her boss a look, she opened the file, reading it out loud.  "Hmm, let's see.  Born 2/10/78.  Served in the Marine Corps from 1996 to 1997.  Rated among the best snipers in the Marines or the Army.  Dishonorably discharged at the rank of Lance Corporal for 'conduct unbecoming.'  Member of the CIA's paramilitary from 1997 to 1998.  Became a master of covert operations.  Dismissed for insubordination.  Now wanted for three murders for hire in southern California, and alleged ties to Dr. Robotnik."  Looking up from the file, she raised an eyebrow at Bloodman, smiling.  "Oh yeah, a real charmer, boss.  Where do you find these guys?"

      Grinning a bit, Bloodman sat back.  "I don't.  Anyway, I want you to arrange us a meeting."

      She looked up, incredulous.  "What?!  That's easier said than done, sir."

      "I have full confidence that you will succeed."

      "But, there's no information about his whereabouts."

      "I heard from a reliable sources that he frequents places between San Diego, and Tijuana, crossing the border when it becomes necessary, though I'd put my money on Tijuana.  Your timetable is until Monday.  That should give you enough time.  Of course, I will pay for your travel and other expenses that you may accrue."

      "Until Monday, huh?  Then, it will be done.  I'll leave for San Diego tomorrow morning."

      "Then, use my private jet, and keep a satellite phone handy.  Keep in touch if you run into any complications.  That is all."

      "Yes, sir."  With that, Sarah handed back the file, stood up and exited the study.

      Bloodman studied Nack's profile again, allowing a smirk to spread on his face.  "There's a saying about these types of matters.  'Love the treason, but hate the traitor.'"  Meaning, it isn't so much the act of treason that gets the attention, but who actually committed the act who gets the most attention.  His smirk grew into a full grin.  "I'll see you soon, Mr. Weasel.  I'll see you soon…"

A/N:  And that'll do it.  Nack will debut in the next chapter.  The next chapter won't take nearly as long as this one.  As usual, please leave your comments and such in review form.  Peace!


	3. An Offer You Can't Refuse?

A/N:  (Looks around at angry mob with pitchforks and torches) Oh, boy.  Guys, let's be rational.  Nobody wants to die.  Not me anyways.  I know I left you people hanging without an update for three weeks, but writer's block and real life has caught up with me.

Random mob person:  That's not good enough!  Get that guy!!

Garoad:  Oh, crap!  (Runs like hell, repeating "I'm sorry!" several times)

Okay, on a more serious note, since I wasn't totally focused on this chapter, don't expect too much out of it.  Just a friendly warning.  And to those who noticed, yes, this scene is heavily inspired by the movie Swordfish, so I admit that I am a little unoriginal.  Enjoy if you can.

            Tijuana, Baja California Norte, Mexico.  Enroute to Nack's place, eastern outskirts of Tijuana.  March 30, 2003.  1400 hours PT.

      The border city of Tijuana is often the place people on the run from U.S. authorities in southern California end up in, if they're able to successfully elude authorities and cross the border.  Of the few that do cross successfully, even fewer are crazy enough to cross back to the U.S. side.  As a border city, there is a fairly good mix of Mexican-born and American-born people there, whether to do business, residing there, or for those in the shady sector, preparing to make a run for the border with contraband in order to sell them in the U.S.

      Since Tijuana is a border city, you had to be fluent in both Spanish and English if you plan on succeeding in the city in the long run.  Sarah only planned on staying in Tijuana to find her quarry before returning to the States, but her Spanish had been tested extensively while trying to get directions.  She got a lead at a bar, probably from a smuggler, that apparently Nack was residing ten miles southeast of downtown Tijuana in a small junkyard off of the main southeastern road.  

      Sarah's rent-a-car, a black 2002 Ford F-150, drove at a steady 35 mph through the sagebrush for a few miles until she came across a junkyard.  "Now, what's a junkyard doing in the middle of nowhere…" she then saw a fairly beaten dirt driveway leading to the junkyard.  She guessed if she 'd stayed on the main road a little longer, she would have noticed the driveway.  Shrugging, she followed the path into the junkyard, parking her car in the clearing before approaching the small shack in the back of the lot.

      As she approached the shack, she noticed a large red 'closed' sign in the small window to the right of the door.  "Closed already?"  She mused out loud.  Since the front gate was still open, Nack may not be finished closing up the place. Well surely, he would make an exception here, right?  With that in mind, she strode to the wooden door, and knocked a few times.

      Nack bolted up.  Only a few people knew of this place; only a ring of fellow smugglers and soldiers-of-fortune, since he had just got it going only a month ago.  He peeked through the slits of his blinds, seeing the petite strawberry blonde human woman in a navy blue business suit.  He arched an eyebrow beneath his trademark hat.  She was quite the looker.  Then, his defenses kicked in.  He had no clue of who this person was.  For all he knew, she could be a bounty hunter from the U.S. coming to claim the hefty bounty on his head.  With that in mind, he grabbed his Glock 20 handgun out of his desk drawer, taking off the three safeties and cocking it as he made his way to his door.

      Sarah knocked a few more times.  Was he not here, or in the vicinity?  She was about to head back to her truck until she heard some movement inside the shack.  "Well, fin—"

      Nack had opened the door, and had his gun trained on the woman's head in one quick, fluid motion, as if he had practiced the move all his life.

      Sarah froze, shocked.  She definitely didn't expect a gun to be pulled on her this suddenly.  She was about to answer when Nack pulled her roughly inside, and crashing onto the nearby couch, before doing a quick sweep of the immediate vicinity for any unwanted guests and shutting the door behind him.  Immediately after, Sarah found Nack's gun trained on her head again.  "Now, who the hell are you?!  Are you a bounty hunter?!  Talk now!"

      She held her hands up instinctively, still wary of the firearm pointed at her head.  "Calm down—"

      "No, don't talk!  Pull out your I.D. nice and slow!  Don't make any sudden moves unless you want some fresh air for your brain."

      Sarah slowly reached for her purse, cautiously unzipping it and withdrawing her San Francisco County, California driver's license, as well as her G.U.N. I.D. card and slowly presented to him, who just snatched them away with his free hand while still keeping his gun trained on her.

      Nack laughed a little upon seeing her G.U.N. identification card.  "Sarah Marie Johansen, Executive Assistant, huh?"  He murmured.  "I wonder what the hell G.U.N. wants with me."  Upon closer inspection of her, he decided that she didn't look the type of a bounty hunter, and he holstered his gun under his waistband after turning on all three safeties.

      Sarah lowered her hands, now becoming bold enough to stand up.  Now that the life-threatening danger was over, she had a chance to get a look around the weasel's meek residence.  There was a TV right in front of her under the window by the wall, and to the right of the set was the front door.  A small mini-fridge was on the left wall.  She had a feeling this wasn't Nack's permanent residence; it had the feeling of a safe house.  "Y'know," she started.  "This isn't an impressive place you've got here."

      Nack glared at her.  "What the hell is it to you?!  State your business, otherwise I'm throwin' you out."

      "Alright!  Fine!"  Sarah sat down on the couch again.  "My boss wants to meet with you for business reasons."

      He raised an eyebrow.  "Then, why isn't he here instead of you?!"

      She opened her mouth to answer, but realization hit her.  He probably had no idea of the events of the past two months, and was probably still classified at the highest level.

      Nack smirked.  "Can't tell me, huh?  That's just fine with me.  Just tell'em if he wants to meet—"

      "He wishes for you to meet him in his mansion in San Francisco."  She stated.

      Nack shook his head.  "No deal.  I'm reluctant to just cross the border, let alone go as far north as San Francisco.  The moment I cross that border, U.S. authorities will be waiting to lock my ass up."

      Sarah grinned.  "Who do you think you're dealing with?  It's well within Mr. Bloodman's power to bribe the authorities.  He's one of the richest people in the world."

      "Still, I ain't doin' it!  If he ain't wllin' to come to me, we have no meetin'!"

      Sarah reached into her purse, withdrew a fanny pack, and lobbed it at the weasel.  Nack just looked at her.  "What the hell?!"

      "Look inside."  She instructed.  Nack looked at her questioningly, and then proceeded to unzip the pouch.  His eyes went wide.  Sarah smiled.  "Like what's inside?"  Nack just stared at her.  "That's 100k inside.  All I'm asking is that you meet with him, and listen to the job he has to offer.  Whether you accept it or decline, you get to keep the 100 thousand."

      Nack sighed.  This Bloodman guy was just giving away $100,000?  Well, all he would have to do is go to San Francisco, listen to what he has to say, say 'no', and he'd walk away with a small fortune.  "Fine."

      She smiled.  "Good!  Go to the Tijuana Cultural Center at eight in the morning tomorrow.  A Hispanic guy in a black suit will meet you and smuggle you into the States.  Then, you'll take a private jet to San Francisco from San Diego.  From there, you'll be shuttled to Mr. Bloodman's estate."  She started to walk out, and then turned around, smirking.  "By the way, since this is a job interview, you might wanna dress for the occasion.  See you tomorrow!"

      Nack snorted as he made to close his door.  Aside from his hat, he had on a white tank top undershirt with blue jeans, and only had casual clothes in his closet.  Clothes issue aside, he hoped he wouldn't regret crossing the border tomorrow.

            _San Francisco, California, U.S.A.  San Francisco International Airport.  March 31, 2003.  1125 hours PT._

      Nack took a deep breath as he stepped off the G.U.N. Lear Jet, and onto the tarmac.  He had always thought it risky to cross the border just to get to San Diego, but now, he was some four or five hundred miles north of the border!  If the authorities wanted to get him, he'd be a sitting duck.  There'd be virtually no escape, unless he was able to miraculously evade every law enforcement agency from San Francisco to the border.

      As Nack walked, he cautiously kept his head on a swivel, expecting either police or bounty hunters to come after him.  Behind him, the guy who he met up with at Tijuana laughed.  "I told you, Mr. Weasel.  Mr. Bloodman has already arranged to have all bounties and warrants on you suspended.  As long as Mr. Bloodman sees fit, you have near carte blanche to move around freely."

      Nack chuckled.  "I know.  It's just reflex, that's all."  Moments later, a stretch limousine pulled up on the tarmac in front of them, the driver getting out to open the back door.  Judging from the license plates he saw, it was no doubt G.U.N.'s.  "I guess this is our ride."  He stated more than asked.

      "Wrong.  It's your ride.  I'm headed for Phoenix to report to a warehouse there.  Good luck."

      Without saying anything, Nack climbed into the backseat of the limo.  The driver closed the door, got back in the driver's seat, and drove off.

            _McLean/Langley, Virginia, U.S.A.  CIA Headquarters.  1430 hours ET.  Same day_

      "Hey, Rouge!  You might wanna get over here!"  Dowell bellowed from a computer terminal in the tech division, where many other agents were hunched over.

      She blinked.  The day had been largely uneventful, and all of the reports she had to go through had almost put her to sleep.  She got up.  "What's up, boss?"

      "Just come over here."  He repeated.

      Shrugging, Rouge walked over to the crowd.  She stood on tiptoes, craning her neck to get a better view.  "What's going on?"

      "Well, we just received these surveillance photos from San Diego International Airport.  Looks like an old friend of ours just crossed the border."

      The black and white photo stopped dead center on a weasel wearing a cowboy hat.  She didn't need to ask to zoom the picture in to get a positive I.D.  "Okay… why's Nack at the airport?"

      "We can't say for sure," Dowell answered.  "But, we have preliminary reports saying that he was headed toward a G.U.N. private jet."

      That caught Rouge's attention.  And didn't Nack and Sonic cross paths before?  If it is confirmed that Nack is with G.U.N., maybe she ought to think about asking his group for assistance.  "Hey, boss.  Keep me informed on this.  I got some reports to finish up."  With that, she made her way back to her desk full of reports.

      "Will do."

            _San Francisco, California, U.S.A.  Thomas Bloodman's mansion.  1200 hours PT.  Same day._

      "So he showed, eh?"  Sarah mumbled to herself as she stood outside by the front door.  Nack's stretch limo stopped in front of the gates before they opened, permitting it access to the rest of the driveway before stopping in front of the steps.  The weasel didn't even wait for the driver to get out and open his door before he got out, a half smoked cigarette hanging from his mouth.  Sarah gawked.  He was a real charmer.  "I hope you knew this is a job interview."  She told him.  "And this is a 'no smoking' establishment."

      Nack groaned before dropping the Marlboro and stomping it out.  He was only wearing leather boots, blue jeans, and a gray T-shirt under a khaki trench coat, along with his trademark hat.  Add the fact that he smelled like cigarettes, and he was the poster guy of what not to look like for an interview.  Still, he only shrugged.  "For all the trouble you guys went through to get me up here, I don't think appearances are that important.  Now, let's get this over with."

      She shrugged.  "Fine."  The two entered the mansion, with Nack looking not too impressed of the furnishings as Sarah led him.  A quick glance at the weasel told her he wasn't too impressed.  "Looks like you've seen better, Mr. Weasel."  She commented.

      "Not really.  Though as a merc, I've hung around millionaires long enough to not look like a tourist."

      She nodded, stopping when they got to the base of some stairs.  "I see.  Mr. Bloodman should be in his private study.  Head up these stairs, and it's right in front of you."

      Without a word, Nack climbed the fifteen red carpet-covered steps.  The door to the study was already open.  Bloodman was in the room.  However, he was peering out of the blinds of his window, looking down into the bay.  If Nack wanted to, he could kill him, and Bloodman would be dead before he'd hit the ground.  Instead, he just loudly cleared his throat to get his attention.  "Thomas Bloodman I presume."  He stated.

      Bloodman spun around on his heels, taking a thorough look at his prospective employee.  This guy's a model mercenary all right, he thought.  "Ah, Nack the Weasel is it?  Or Fang the Sniper?  I've heard so much about you."

      Nack took a few steps forward.  "Excuse my impatience, but let's get down to business, shall we?"  The sooner he heard this guy's offer, the sooner he could get back to Tijuana $100k richer.

      "As you wish," Bloodman replied.  "Come with me to the balcony, please."  Nack just shrugged and followed Bloodman to the room's balcony, which gave a spectacular view of the bay.  When they arrived, Bloodman continued.  "Now, I read your file, Mr. Weasel.  I know about your service in the U.S. Army as a sniper, a damn good one if I'm not mistaken.  And I know about your service in the CIA."  He paused to let Nack absorb what he just said before continuing.  "I also know of the scenario regarding your questionable dismissal from the CIA, and of your dealings of Dr. Robotnik."

      Nack wheeled around in shock.  If he had his gun, he probably would have pulled it on him.  "What's this about?!"  He demanded.  As far as he knew, G.U.N. was still contracted by the U.S. Armed Forces.

      Bloodman chuckled, his composure never broken.  "Relax, Mr. Weasel.  I'm here to offer you employment, not to turn you in.  You and I are the same, in a sense.  You know, the beauty of the United States and other Western nations is they give you the right to free enterprise.  Now, it seems that that right is also being limited.  In around late January, Dr. Robotnik placed an order for a full division of infantry-bots.  I heard that shipment was lost along with the Rakshasa-class egg carrier it was on—"

      "How the hell are you guys still around with the government knowing that?!"  Nack gaped.

      Bloodman chuckled.  "They have no solid evidence.  The only thing they have is the word of one Sonic the Hedgehog."

      "So you want me to take'em out?"  The weasel asked.  Besides, he still had a score to settle with that hedgehog.

      Bloodman shook his head, to Nack's mild disappointment.  "No.  Sonic's word alone can't expose G.U.N.  However, earlier this month, the CIA has begun to infiltrate my facilities in an attempt to uncover hard evidence of my dealings with Robotnik.  We have identified who's directly leading the investigation."  With that, he handed Nack a photo of a balding fifty-ish looking Caucasian man.  "The name's Donald Owens.  That investigation must stop.  Be advised that this is a black op.  If discovered, we will deny all knowledge, and you will pay the price."

      Nack shrugged at the last statement, still looking at the photo.  Donald Owens was the guy who dismissed him from the CIA.  Nack had maintained that it wasn't justified, and had since had a grudge against the U.S. government.  He had accepted contracts from Robotnik out of spite of the government.  And now, he was being given the chance to hit the government directly.  He was intrigued.  Still, some conditions had to follow for him to accept.  "What's my pay?"

      "$30 million."

      Nack almost choked on his spit.  $30 million?!  Boy, did this guy have money to throw around.  "I'll accept on two conditions."

      "Yes?"

      "First, I want it all in cash.  Second, the moment I accomplish this mission, I want a sub waiting for me to head to Columbia.  I got some drug lord friends there."

      Bloodman nodded, and the two shook on the deal.  "I can arrange that.  Now, your best chance is in three days.  Weather pending, there is supposed to be a speech on the White House lawn announcing a new military alliance with the Ukraine at noon.  I'll have my contacts in D.C. arrange accommodations for you, as well as reconnaissance of possible sniping points.  Since G.U.N. doesn't have much of an influence on the east coast, you'll be smuggled in via cargo train.  You depart immediately.  Remember:  Owens is your primary target.  I want no collateral damage.  Once your objective has been neutralized, a G.U.N. chopper will be standing by to extract you to a submarine in Chesapeake Bay.  Sarah will show you out.  Good luck."

      Nack nodded, then spun on his heels and started to walk out.  He hadn't really expected to accept this offer, but after the ludicrous amount of money he was being paid, he jumped at the opportunity without thinking.  What good is $100k if you're not alive to use it?  Nah, just forget it.  This mission would go by the books.  In three days, he'll be $30 million richer; much better than just $100k.

A/N:  (Ducks behind a corner, and the mob passes him) Whew!  I think I lost'em.  I promise that updates will become more regular.  For those still reading, you know the drill.  Leave comments and such in review form, and—"

Mob person:  There he is!  Get'em!

Garoad:  Crap! (Runs again)  


	4. We've Been Drafted!

A/N:  Oops!  Trust me, three week intervals was NOT what I had in mind when I said 'regular updates'.  I'm verrrry sorry for the delay, folks.  For some odd reason, the creative juices weren't flowing inside me for a while.

And now, for something that I'll be doing every other chapter:  Reviewer Appreciation!  Big thanks to English Bloke, General Dragon, Ryuko DragonHalf, and Bryon Nightshade for continuing to give me their input and encouragement!  You guys are the reasons why I'm still doing this, and once again, I'm sorry it took me this long to get the next installment out.

On a side note, you'll probably think I'm lying like George Bush Sr. when I say this, but read my lips:  I will have the next chapter up within a week!  If not, feel free to use whatever you want to drive me insane.  Though I warn you, should I survive with my sanity intact, if you see a red dot on your house or establishment, I advise you to stand clear.  Me + laser designator = artillery strikes firing for effect!  Muhahahahaha!!!!!!

Okay, on with it!

_Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.  Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum of Natural History.  April 1, 2003.  0500 hours._

      Nack woke up groggily.  The train had been stopped too long for people just to be embarking and disembarking.  Pulling his hat back over his eyes.  The cargo car's door was open, and his assigned escort, a G.U.N. operative, was missing.  What was going on?

      A few seconds later, his traveling escort, a coyote anthropomorph, clambered back into the car.  "Nack, we have a situation."

      "What?"

      "U.S. Marshals are searching this train.  Evidently, they're acting on a tip they got back in St. Louis from someone that they saw you board this train."

      "Oh, hell…" Nack breathed, getting up.  This was exactly what he was afraid of.  He found himself wishing that he just walked back to Tijuana with $100k.  The bounty on his head wasn't exactly ignorable.  Someone probably saw the two train jumping.  He took out his pack of Marlboros, patting a cigarette out; frowning when he discovered it was his last.  Great.  First, out of smokes.  Next, out of freedom.  "Where is this?"  He asked, seeing a city's skyline against the predawn sky outside the door.  There was nothing that really stood out from it, but from north of downtown, it looked like just about any other medium-sized metropolis.

      "This is Cincinnati."  The coyote answered.  When Nack gave him a 'how do you know?' look, the coyote continued.  "I walked around for a bit before I saw those Marshals."  He checked outside again.  The Marshals were inching closer.  He closed the door.  "We'd better do something before they get here."

      "But, if we get out of the car, they'll see me for sure."  Nack mumbled, looking around.  "Hey, look!  A hatch!"

      Outside, they could hear voices.  "Hey, guys.  I think I heard someone in here."  One voice said.

      Nack was starting to panic.  If the Marshals got a hold of him, he probably wouldn't see the light of day for a **long **time.  Their best bet of getting out unnoticed was via the top hatch, but it wasn't likely they had the time to get there.    

      A thought hit the coyote.  He wasn't sure it would work, but uncertainty was better than imminent capture.  "Alright, stay cool.  I'll handle this."  With that, he began to open the door.  Nack's first instinct was to yell out in protest, but he bit it back.  The coyote opened the door only to see two U.S. Marshals outside the car.

      "U.S. Marshals.  Nack the Weasel, you're under arrest!  Step out of the train!"  A Marshal said.

      The coyote fumbled for his G.U.N. I.D., presenting it.  Well, here goes… "Gentlemen, I'm under orders to escort Mr. Weasel to Washington D.C.  There must be some mix up.  The bounty on his head and all warrants were supposed to be temporarily suspended while he is working under G.U.N."  G.U.N. basically held dominion over the 1/3 of the U.S. west of the Rockies, but how much pull did G.U.N. have as far east as Cincinnati?   And, did anybody else, besides perhaps the CIA, know anything about the events that have transpired since late January?

      The other Marshal blinked, skeptical.  "When did this happen?"  He said to himself.  "What's his business in D.C., and why are you stowed away on a train?"  He demanded.

      It was pretty much out of the question to say he was going to assassinate someone, so the coyote came up with a time-proven answer.  "His business is highly classified, and we're on this train to save time.  This assignment of ours is time critical and of grave importance.  We cannot run the risk of getting stopped every half-mile by law enforcement for questioning.  If you have any complaints, direct them to Mr. Bloodman.  I'm just following orders.  If that's all, we'll take our leave."  He motioned for Nack.  "Nack, let's move."  With that, the two exited the cargo train car, walking past the two U.S. Marshals, taking the time it took for the lawmen to process the coyote's words to get a good ways away.

      When they were out of earshot, the coyote heaved a sigh of relief.  "Whew!  They bought it!"

      Nack looked dumbfounded.  "You mean to tell me you weren't even sure that'd work?!  What the hell kind of organization is this?!"

      The coyote grinned.  "I would think that you, of all people, would know that half of success comes down to improvising."

      Nack just shrugged, lighting up his forgotten cigarette.  "Next stop we make, we're buyin' some cigarettes.  Hell, if we're lucky, we'll ride in a car full of 'em."

            _McLean/Langley, Virginia, U.S.A.  CIA Headquarters.  Same day.  1145 hours._

      "What?!  Is that confirmed?"  Staff Operations Officer Donald Owens asked through the phone's speaker.  This development would drastically speed up the investigation of G.U.N. that he was assigned to lead.  A beat.  "I see.  Well, leave the rest to us.  We can take it from here."  With not another word, Owens hung up the receiver.  It was confirmed.  Not only was Nack inbound to D.C., but he was also working with G.U.N., and with a G.U.N. contact no less.  Does this mean that the weapons brokers/contractors knew about the CIA's probing?  He had known that ever since Nack was dismissed from the CIA, he had become a mercenary, specializing in assassinations, and had even worked for Dr. Robotnik for a stint.  He knew that Nack's ability, as a field operative, was second to none when he was at his best.  In response, he needed someone who was just as good.  Someone like… "Rouge!"

      Rouge was walking by Owens' office, fresh from a martial arts class, when he had called her.  They weren't exactly on the best terms, so she just paid him a glance before continuing.

      Owens got up from his desk, giving chase.  "H-hey!  This is important!"

      The bat huffed.  "What do you want?!"  The main reason why Rouge and Owens weren't on good terms was because her immediate superior, Scott Dowell, wasn't assigned command authority of the investigation.  If Dowell were, her part of this investigation would probably be a lot more exciting, instead of her sitting at her desk, filling out paperwork.  

      Owens slowly cracked a grin.  "I'm gonna make your life a little more exciting."

      She blinked.  "Excuse me?"

      "Just take a seat, I'll get Dowell over here too.  You both need to hear this."  With that, Owens paged Dowell over the office intercom, while Rouge took a seat.

      Another minute had passed before the bloodhound arrived, and he eyed Owens.  "What's this about, Owens?"  He asked, a little bit irritated that he had to take orders from someone that didn't even have rank on him.

      Rouge sighed.  "I wish I knew."

      Owens sighed.  "Still bitter that I got the nod instead of you?  Get over it!  Nothing I can do about it.  Anyway, you jokers are here because I'm gonna make your lives a bit more exciting.  I have just received intelligence from U.S. Marshals that Nack the Weasel was sighted in Cincinnati, and is inbound to the D.C. area.  Apparently, he's traveling by train."

      Dowell and Rouge blinked.  How does this pertain to this investigation of G.U.N.?  "And?"

      "He was being escorted by a member of G.U.N."

      Now, the light bulbs flashed on in their heads as the two remembered.  Two days ago, Nack was seen in San Diego apparently heading towards a G.U.N. private jet.  Now it was confirmed.  The weasel was now in league with G.U.N.

      "Now, I'm sure you two are well aware of Nack's skill as an operative.  When he was in the agency, his skills as a covert operative were second to none."  He stood up, parting the horizontal blinds to look out the window.  "That's why I want the best for this assignment.  Make no mistake; I'm not trying to kiss anyone's ass.  Scott, I'd like to borrow your subordinate for a while for this."

      Rouge looked at Dowell expectantly, and the bloodhound returned the look, brows furrowed.  After a long silence, he spoke.  "It's up to you, kid.  If you think you can handle it."

      Rouge thought for a moment.  Then, it hit her.  It was a well-known fact that Nack was under contract with Robotnik some time ago, so Sonic and company must've had some confrontations with him.  Hmm… In recent e-mails, Sonic had been complaining of boredom.  It was decided then.  "I accept on one condition:  you allow me full authority to use any means necessary to complete my objectives."

      He wheeled around.  "I don't even give a damn if you have to take him to bed with you!  I want that weasel alive on a platter!  For one thing, find out what he's doing here and why he's this far north and east, and two, he's wanted for intelligence reasons, both on the G.U.N. and Eggman front.  Your objectives are to be completed ASAP.  That is all."  With that, Rouge and Dowell left the office.

      "Full authority to use any means necessary?"  Dowell questioned when they were away from Owens' office.  "Rouge, what are you planning?"  He probably knew what she was going to do, but asked anyway.

      With a grin, she answered.  "Inviting a few friends over."  

            _Key Largo, Florida, U.S.A. ' The Strip.'  1155 hours.  Same day._

      "Alright!  Final weapons check before Amy gets here!"  Sonic shouted.  "Make sure nobody's weapon is live!  We don't need any accidents on the way!"

      Knuckles rolled his eyes.  "Sonic, its just paintball.  It's not like we can seriously maim someone with these."  He had just returned from Angel Island on

      "No, but they sting like hell."

      The three were dressed in jungle style mottled camouflage BDUs (Battle Dress Uniforms) and helmets, courtesy of the local military surplus.  There was a paintball arena near Tampa that was starting to form up Florida leagues that boasted a huge outdoor arena that was almost akin to the jungles of Vietnam, except without the punji stake traps.  Right now, they had free practice running all day.  Now, if only Amy would get here…

      "Hey, how'd you convince Amy to tag along with us?"  Knuckles asked.  "I didn't think she'd be one for paintball."

      Sonic and Tails both laughed.  "On Friday, Ames made the both of us see 'How To Lose A Guy in Ten Days.  In return, we get to take her to do whatever."  Sonic answered.  

       It was now Knuckles' turn to burst into laughter.  "She made the two of you come with you?!  Y'all two ain't men!"

      Sonic frowned.  "Shut up!  It ain't funny!"

      "Yeah, it is!"

      Sonic drew his paintball gun, pointing it at Knuckles' foot.  "Shut up, otherwise I'll shoot your pinkie toe clean off.  I'll blast that crusty ass nub right off!"

      Knuckles laughed even harder, even having the audacity to take off a shoe and sock, presenting a bare foot.   "Oh, now he wants to shoot me in my corns!  Go ahead!  Take your best shot!"  Knuckles taunted, raising the bare foot up.  He didn't think that Sonic would actually do it.

      Sonic blinked.  This was a challenge.  He glanced at Tails, who although was now laughing hysterically at the echidna's antics, still had the coherence to give a shrug.  That was it.  He pulled the trigger.  

      The next thing out of Knuckles' mouth was not laughter, but a cry of pain and a stream of curses as he jumped around on one leg, holding his smarting foot.  "AHHH!!!!!  WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!?!  THAT FRIGGIN' STUNG, ASSHOLE!!!!"

      Sonic just smirked.  "Well next time, stop laughing, and don't even try to call my bluff when Amy's not around!"

       Knuckles growled angrily, took aim with his own paintball gun at Sonic's foot.  Now it was his turn to jump around holding his foot, cursing in pain.

      "OWW, SHIT!!!  THAT STINGS!!!!!!"  Even with his shoes on, the paintball still stung.  In retaliation, Sonic shot Knuckles' shin, and the attack was returned, while Tails just pointed and laughed at the two.  Thus continued the vicious cycle.

      They didn't even notice Amy arriving in her car, until she stood right behind Tails.  She shook her head.  "What is going on?"  She asked, amusement in her voice.

      Tails turned around to face the female hedgehog, glancing back once at the quarreling pair.  "They're shooting themselves in the foot.  Literally."

      Amy sighed and walked over to the two, stopping when she was in between them, clapping her hands.  "Okay, children.  Break it up!"

      "It ain't my fault!  He started it!"  Sonic accused.

      "What?!  You're the one who shot my corns off first!"  Knuckles countered.

      "I was provoked!"

      Amy sighed.  "Sonikku…" she started warningly, letting it linger.

      Knuckles snickered foolishly.  "Oooh, he's being chastised."

      "Oh, that just tears it!  You die now!"  Sonic growled, raising his paintball gun, and firing for effect around Amy, and on the now running echidna.  Now, he went for body and headshots, not just the foot.  This only went on for a few moments before Amy grabbed the back of his neck, squeezing a little, making Sonic gasp, cringe, and double over a bit.  But, his last shot did score a hit on Knuckles' rear, causing the echidna to jump and yelp in pain, holding the injured cheek, which Sonic noted with some satisfaction.

      "Gun."  She demanded, and Sonic disarmed himself without further resistance, and she let go of his neck.  "Y'know, as much as you two fight together, it's a wonder you guys bounty hunt together.  Besides," she smirked.  "We can't have you two killing each other before we get to the arena, 'cause then, there won't be anything left for me to pick off."

      Sonic snorted.  "Trust me.  Your luck in Halo will not carry over to paintball.  I guarantee it.  Anyways, I'm surprised you're this enthusiastic about playing paintball with us."  He was also surprised that she had on the BDU he had given her from the local military surplus.

      A loud chime resonated from inside the hangar.  Knuckles furrowed an eyebrow.  "What the…"

      Realization hit Sonic, and he raced inside the hangar.  "Oh, hell!  What's hit the fan now!?  Let's go!"  That chime meant that someone was trying to contact them through the voice-over web cam chat program on the computer.  Tails had created a script that once someone was trying to contact them through the program, the macro would close all open applications, and login with their screen name, Comanche156, along with giving a loud audio warning.  And there was only one person who would contact them with that screen name:  Rouge.

       As the group neared the small room where the computer was located, they could sure enough hear Rouge's voice from the speakers, asking for an audience.  Sonic reached the room first, and plopped down in the recliner, with the rest of the group not far behind.  On the monitor, Rouge smiled.  "Heya, guys!  Miss me?"

      Sonic sighed.  "Y'know, every time we chat like this, something's either hit the fan, or is about to hit the fan.  Which one is it?"

      The bat laughed a little.  "Guess there's no keeping anything from you.  Anyways, I don't know if anything's gonna hit, but it could."

      Knuckles shrugged behind Sonic.  "Alright, how could it?"

      At this, Rouge's expression got a little more serious.  "I just got word that Nack was sighted in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Apparently, he's headed to D.C. by train."

      Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails both exchanged looks.  All three of them had a history with Nack, although Knuckles was the only one who can claim to be his ally in his encounter.  "Okay… what about it?"  Sonic asked.

      "I might as well start from the beginning."  Rouge started.  "Remember those G.U.N. units that you found on the _Rakshasa_ during Operation Blackbeard?"  When Sonic nodded, she continued.  "Well, for the past month, the CIA has been investigating your claims, since you don't have any hard evidence.  Well now, we think that we're maybe getting too deep because in Cincinnati, Nack was sighted traveling with a G.U.N. operative.  And I've been assigned to track him down.  I might need a little help on this."

      Knuckles shrugged.  "Okay… why are you asking for our help?  You're plenty capable to hunt him down."

      Rouge smiled.  "Well, thanks, Red.  But, think about it.  Even with all the technological advances, finding a single nomad in a city is like finding a needle in a haystack.  I just have a funny feeling about this if I go alone.  Like if I don't find him soon, something really bad's gonna happen."

      A beat.  Then Sonic spoke.  "Are you signing us up behind anyone's back?"  He asked.

      She smirked.  "Nope!  I have full authority to use any means necessary to complete my mission.  So, how about it?  You did say you guys wished something would happen again.  Well, now's your chance to make your lives more exciting."

      "Oh, joy!"  Sonic exclaimed sarcastically.  "We get to go on a manhunt!"  He swiveled in his chair, facing the group.  "What do you think, guys?  I say we go."

      "I'm with you wherever we go."  Amy said.

      "Same here!"  Tails agreed.

      Sonic turned to Knuckles.  "Knux?"

      A chance to see Rouge again?  For Knuckles, there were still some unanswered questions in his heart about her.  Maybe this time, he'd get to fill in the blanks.  "I'm in."

      Sonic nodded and turned around.  "Alright then, you got yourselves some freelancers!"

      "Great!"  Rouge exclaimed.  "I'll have you guys booked for today's 2:00 flight from Miami.  I'll meet you guys at the airport up here.  And thanks again!"  With that, Rouge's face disappeared from the monitor, followed by a logout message.

      Sonic laughed a little before turning back to the group.  "Well, paintball's out."  He murmured.  "Let's go and pack."

A/N:  Yep, I managed to sneak my hometown in here.  You knew it would happen in one of my stories, no matter how boring it is in 'Deadcinnati.'  Oh, one more thing, can you figure out what movie inspired the paintball scene?  Guess right, and… I guess nothing happens.  Oh, well.  

Well, you know the drill.  Please leave your comments and such in review form.  And remember:  one week.  Till then, peace!


	5. Don't Cry 'Wolf'

A/N:  Eheheh.  I should've known I was setting myself up for failure with that one-week promise.  My fault peeps.  It seems I can only update when the stars were right.  In this case, Sol, Alpha Centauri, Epsilon Pegasai, Deneb, Capella, and Gamma Draconis were aligned.

The good news is, all that idle time wasn't all wasted.  I got the groundwork done on yet another installment in this series.  More on that front later.

One more thing, I decided to bump up the rating again.  I thought I could keep my foul mouth safely within PG-13 limits, but it couldn't be helped in this case.  Don't worry; it's nothing excessive, like in my first story.  Also, the action sequence had a say in this decision as well.

Well, enough talk.  On with the show!

            _Washington D.C., U.S.A.  Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.  1730 hours.  April 1, 2003._

      "For some odd reason, I'm getting a feeling of déjà vu."  Sonic murmured to himself.  Right now, the group was spread out in baggage claim waiting for their suitcases, duffle bags, et al to pop up on the conveyor belts.  They had already changed into warmer clothes, since it was still forty degrees in D.C.  It had been a moderately long three and a half hour flight, hampered by delays on takeoff, and the group was only too grateful to be out of the confined spaces of the jetliner.

      "Hey, guys!  I found at least one of'em!"  Amy shouted from one end of baggage claim, plucking out Sonic's black duffle bag.

      "Then, the rest of'em should pop up there, too!"  Sonic answered, making his way towards her, Tails and Knuckles not far behind.

      "Hey, I thought Rouge was supposed to meet us here."  Amy said more to herself than anyone, but Sonic heard her.

      "Hmm.  Maybe she's in a different part of the airport.  Stay right here, I'll look for her."  Sonic announced.

      "Hey, wai—" Knuckles tried to stop him, but it was too late.  Sonic was already long gone, heading for the disembarkation terminals and the food court.  "Always the impulsive one.  Oh, well.  Knowing him, he won't be gone too long."

      About three minutes later, a familiar voice called out.  "So, there you guys are!"  The remaining group turned towards its origin to see Rouge coming from where Sonic ran off to with said hedgehog in tow, and went to meet the group.

      "Huh, so he did track her down…" Tails mused.

      The bat chuckled.  "Actually, he got lucky.  He happened to pass the bathrooms when I came out.  So, how was the flight?"

      "Long," Amy muttered as she moved to pick up her duffle bag, and the rest of the gang soon followed suit.  "And, we had an hour delay because of a freak thunderstorm."

      Knuckles shrugged.  "Can't complain, considering all the stuff that could go wrong."

      Sonic smirked.  "He doesn't exactly have an affinity for airplanes."

      "Shut up!"

      As the group headed out to where Rouge's car was waiting, Sonic spoke up.  "So, we're going after Nack, eh?  This, I'm gonna enjoy."  He said while patting a fist into his palm.

      Rouge nodded.  "Well, it seems that he's had it coming for a while.  He seems to have a talent for pissing off everyone he comes across.  Even Eggman.  Some months ago, I heard he stole a sizeable cache of weapons and sold them on the black market to the highest bidder.  Probably because Eggman never paid him for his services."

      Knuckles snorted.  "Doesn't come as a surprise.  He is a merc after all.  He'd sell out his own flesh and blood if the price was right."

      A black Cadillac Escalade pulled up near the sidewalk where the group was at, catching everyone's attention, mostly in admiration.  Then, its cracked open black tinted front window went further down, allowing some cigarette smoke to escape, as well as revealing Dowell's face.  "Oh, good.  You're still here!"  He said.

      "Boss?"  Rouge started, puzzled.

      Dowell shrugged.  "Hey, I wanted to call you, but you left your cell phone on your desk."

      Sonic walked towards the window.  "How've you been, Dowell?"

      The bloodhound shrugged again.  "Can't complain."  He put the Cadillac in park, cut off the engine, and got out to meet the group.  "Anyway, Rouge, your part in this investigation has been altered a little."

      The bat raised an eyebrow.  "How so?"

      "Well, Director Wade put me in overall control of finding Nack some thirty minutes ago."

      Rouge did a double take.  "What the hell?!"  Not that she had any trouble with taking orders from Dowell.  She had thought that as the only officer on this case, she would have unrestricted authority to do whatever she had to do in order to get the job done.  Now, would she have to rethink her strategy?

      As if to reassure her, Dowell continued.  "Not that that would alter things a whole lot.  I'm pretty confident that things won't get outta hand, so I'll pretty much stay outta the way.  But, you do have to fill me in on new developments of course.  And, if the shit ever hits the fan, I'm stepping in."

      Rouge shrugged.  "So in short, I'm just reporting to you instead of to Owens.  Okay, I get ya.  Let's go, guys!"  With that, she made to lead the group to her car, but then Dowell called out.

      "Hold on!"  Rouge, and the group turned back around to face Dowell.  "Aren't you forgetting something?"  He asked, brandishing her jet-black Motorola cell phone.

      The bat chuckled sheepishly, accepting her phone.  "Heh, thanks a lot."

      "I'll be in touch."  With that, Dowell got back in his Escalade, started the engine, and pulled away.

      Sonic whistled as he saw Dowell drive off, and eyed Rouge.  "Y'know, you intelligence types must be well-paid to afford Caddys."

      The bat smirked.  "Something like that.  Anyway, let's go!  We're losing daylight!

            _Washington D.C., U.S.A.  Rouge's condominium.  1820 hours.  Same day._

      "Okay, guys!  Here we are!"  Rouge announced, opening her door to reveal her living room, and allowing everyone to take in the surroundings.  Oh yeah, intelligence types were very well paid.  A cream-colored couch and sofa with matching carpet, along with a 50" plasma screen TV highlighted the living room.  To the left was a fully equipped kitchen and dining area.  Down the hallway ahead of them were probably a complete bathroom, a master bedroom, and maybe even a guest room.  

      "Wow!  How can you afford this place, Rouge?!"  Amy asked in awe, walking around the living room.

      "Trust me, Ames," Sonic murmured as he sat down on the sofa.  "Intelligence types are **very** well paid."

      When Tails and Knuckles filed in, Rouge closed the door.  "Okay, for the next few days or so, my house is your house.  So help yourself to anything in the fridge.  I need to get some things from the back room, so I'll be back."  With that, she went down the hall, leaving the four to talk amongst themselves.

      Knuckles was the first to speak.  "Hey, Sonic?"

      "What?"

      "What do you think about this mission?  There's has be more to it than just catching Nack."

      The blue hedgehog shrugged.  "That's almost a given.  We're most likely on a need-to-know basis.  Our lovely government is known to do that."  That last sentence had a hint of sarcasm.  "The higher up you are in the government food chain, the more you need to know.  And, since we're freelancers, not even government or military, well…" he shrugged again and laid back on the couch, trailing off.  "But, then again," he grinned.  "Half the fun is finding out on your own.  If we knew everything, all the time, things would be a lot more dull."

      "Hmph.  He's in good spirits about this."  The echidna muttered.

      "Yeah, but this is the Information Age. Information is power, if you think about it."  Tails said.  "Whoever controls the most information, has the most power."

      "Which is why we need to get more of it, and quickly."  Knuckles said.

      "Then again, you guys may be overthinking this."  Amy stated, getting some questioning glances from the boys.  "Think about it, we're not exactly new to saving the world, and we're not new to working with the government.  I'd think that info would be easier to get for us, right?  I mean, it's not like the government thinks we're gonna sell some secrets to China or something, right?"

      A beat.  Then, Sonic replied.  "Our wet works has one motto:  DTA.  Don't Trust Anyone."

      "If you put it that way, you make it seem like you don't trust me."  Rouge said as she set a handful of equipment down; a police scanner and phone taps among other things, on the coffee table, feigning insult.

      Knuckles shrugged.  "It's just the government in general.  I guess you're an exception to the rule."

      She laughed.  "Well thanks, Red!  I feel special!"

      "Whatever, anyway what do you know about this situation?"

      "Where do you want me to start?"

      Sonic thought for a moment.  "How about what happened right after Operation Blackbeard?"

      "I hope you guys are comfortable," the bat started.  "Right afterwards, the Agency was at an indecision about what to do about your alleged sighting of deactivated G.U.N. units on the _Rakshasa._  The only thing they had to go on was your word."

      I really wished Shadow didn't destroy my camera, Sonic thought at that.

      "At the end of February, the CIA sent a formal request to G.U.N. to inspect select G.U.N. bases.  We got no response for that, which raised our suspicions of G.U.N.  About two weeks later, we began to covertly infiltrate their facilities.  Though we were unable to find anything, we're probably forcing their hand now."

      "How so?"  Tails asked.

      "Well, this past weekend, we received a recording from a security camera at San Diego International Airport showing Nack allegedly heading towards a G.U.N. private jet.  Again, we at the Agency said 'hmmm.'  Then, the big kicker came today.  At around noon, we received word that Nack was as far east as Cincinnati, and was riding a cargo train with a confirmed G.U.N. operative bound for D.C.  Since then, it's confirmed that Nack is in the area, but he disappeared soon after."  A beat to let everything sink in, then she continued.  "Here's something else to think about.  You may not know this, but Nack was once a CIA operative."

      Everyone did a double take.  "Say what?!"

      Rouge nodded.  "Yep.  As a matter of fact, his skills as a covert operative were second to none.  Dowell once said he was untouchable."

      Knuckles shrugged.  "So, what happened?"

      "I don't know the exact circumstances, but he was dismissed.  It had something to do with a fellow operative getting killed, and apparently, Nack took the fall."

      "So now, he's a merc."  Sonic reasoned.  "I guess that's what happens when you fall out from grace of the regular agencies."

      Rouge sat down cross-legged on the carpet.  "He's been bitter ever since, driving him to even work with Robotnik in some instances."  Payback.  She hasn't heard that excuse since the ARK incident a little less than two years ago.

      "Well regardless of the past, we still gotta track down Nack, otherwise things'll get ugly."  Amy reasoned.

      "Easier said than done."  Knuckles said, getting up to look out the window.  "We never had to look for Nack; Nack came for us.  And with us knowing that he was a crack covert operative, this is gonna be one big game of hide-and-seek."

      "So, we just have to wait for him to slip up."  Rouge said, and started to set up the equipment she brought in.  "We'll have to monitor phone calls and police transmissions for the time being.  I suggest you get comfortable; this may take awhile."

            _Washington D.C.  Abandoned warehouse.  Same day.  2200 hours._

      "There they are."  A figure mumbled, looking down from a rooftop through another warehouse's window with binoculars.  Eight people, including his quarry, were inside that structure.  He then looked around the building's perimeter.  "Doesn't look like any sentries are here."  He then spoke through his radio.  "Gentry, they're in warehouse #4.  My receiver is ready.  Get that directional microphone ready."

      "Copy that."

      On the rooftop, the figure took off his ski mask, revealing the gray fur of a timber wolf to the moonlight.  One would think that he belonged to a Special Forces group, with his mottled gray battle dress uniform, radio equipment, and ski mask.  But, the insignia on his shoulder of a golden sickle overlapped by an eagle of the same color suggested that he was a member of a mercenary and/or terrorist group.  The fact that he also had a katana strapped to his back also reinforced that notion.

      "Captain Mackenzie, I'm in position.  I'm broadcasting now."

      "Roger that.  Maintain radio silence."  With that, the timber wolf put the receiver to his ear, while his partner directed the microphone to the building.

      "You weren't followed?"  Miller, the coyote who escorted Nack by train, asked.

      Nack laughed a little.  "Of course not.  You'd think I'd have more skill than that, Miller!"

      The other laughed.  "Yeah, what was I thinking?  Hey, Butler!  You got his equipment?!"  Miller yelled across the room.

      Another operative, a blond human with a military style haircut, patted the metal briefcase he was holding.  "It's all here."  With that, he set it down, and opened it, revealing a disassembled H&K PSG-1.  "You're getting the executive treatment, Mr. Weasel; only the best equipment for you.  All you need to do is put it together, point, and shoot."

      "The most accurate sniper rifle in the world, eh?"  Nack grinned.  "Now, about this plan…"

      Miller unrolled a map of the area surrounding the White House.  "Okay, that speech will take place on the north lawn.  We should be able to get inside a building across the street from the White House.  Once we've set up shop, we need to take out the sharpshooters on the White House's roof.  Intel has it that there'll be two of'em on station.  Once they're outta the way, we just need to pick out a Donald Owens from the attendees, take him out, and egress to the chopper waiting for us near the Potomac.  The chopper will then take us to a recovery ship waiting in Chesapeake Bay.  As long as we're not suspected in this attack, we'll be okay, Mr. Bloodman will be happy, and we can all go home."

      "So, that's what their up to…" Mackenzie said to himself.  "But, I cannot let that happen."  He went to his radio.  "Gentry, stand clear of the building!  Blue group, move in!"

            _Washington Monument.  Same time._

      "Man, this is like finding a needle in a haystack."  Sonic mumbled.  "At this rate, it could take about a week to track Nack down.  And by then, he'd have finished his business in D.C."  He and Amy were now doing some sightseeing.  During the ennui of playing the waiting game, Amy had suggested that they take breaks in shifts, and the group drew straws to see who got the first break.  Luck favored Sonic and Amy.  "I guess there's no other choice."

      Amy wasn't listening.  Instead, her gaze was transfixed on the shattered moon in the crisp, clear night sky; a result of Robotnik's show of power during the ARK incident.  She sighed.  "It's a shame."

      Sonic blinked.  "What is?"

      Leaning against him, she linked hands with him.  "Y'know, I once took moonlight strolls for granted, Sonikku.  Now, they'll never be the same."

       He laughed a little.  "Yep.  Eggman royally pissed off a lot of lovers that day."  Aside from blowing up half the moon, there also came the danger of moon fragments impacting the Earth.  So far, no cataclysmic rocks have hit, but there's still more up there ready to fall.  He thought that was too reckless for just a show of force.  Did he even know what the potential fallout could be?  Well, too late to worry now.

      They walked for a bit more before Sonic caught Amy daydreaming.  "Hey, something on your mind?"  He asked.

      She shook her head, smiling a bit.  "Nah.  You wouldn't be in the least bit interested."

      Of course, that just made him even more curious.  "Oh, come on.  What's up?"

      Her smile got wider.  "Alright, but I guarantee that you won't be interested."

      "Five dollars says I will!"

      She giggled.  "Okay.  Ready?  Okay, I was just thinking about an email that Rouge gave me a while back.  And in one of them, she said, well more like implied that she has feelings for Knuckles.  And, I was wonder--"

      Sonic fished a crumpled up five-dollar bill out of his pocket, presenting it to Amy.  "Ain't gonna happen."  He stated.

      "Oh, why not?"  Amy whined.  "It's not like they see each other all the time!  This is probably the best time for them!"

      He shook his head, turning away from her and folding his arms across his chest.  "My name's Binnitt, and I ain't in it!  I say we just let nature take its course.  If you get me to play cupid, well, let's just say that things won't be pretty."

      Amy laughed a little, hugging the cobalt blue hedgehog from behind.  "Sonikku, we don't have to play cupid with the Arrows of Love, per se.  We just have to give the process a little push, that's all.  Get them both alone for a while with nothing to do."

      Sonic eyed her from over his shoulder.  "What do you want me to do, lock'em both in a phone booth?  'Cause that's all I'm open for."

      She huffed.  "You're impossible."  A loud bang went off in the distance.  At first, the two didn't pay it any heed, but when the bangs went off in rapid succession, they immediately went on alert.  "Hey, didn't that sound like…"

      "Gunfire."  Sonic finished.  "Then again, this is the murder capital of the world, so—"

      "Sonic!  Amy!  Do you copy?!"  Rouge's voice oozed out of a walkie-talkie Sonic was carrying.  "I think we got something!

            _Warehouse.  Same time._

      "Hey guys!  Looks like our privacy's been compromised!"  A G.U.N. agent announced from his post at a window by the catwalk.

      Miller grabbed for his handgun.  "How many?"

      The lookout peered out of the window.  "About sev—" That was the last word he ever said.  A bullet had shattered the window, and ventilated his skull.

      "Shit!  It's _them_!  Everyone, let's move out!"  Miller shouted.

      Nack blinked.  "Who exactly is 'them'?"  He queried.

      Miller grabbed Nack by the arm, pulling him roughly to a waiting SUV in the warehouse.  "All you need to know is that they're the enemy.  Now, let's get to that car!"

      Everyone else had already gotten to the car, and was distributing the AR-15's inside amongst themselves.  The metallic door on the far side of the building was blown off its hinges from outside, and a group of armed individuals, clad in mottled gray BDU's and armed with AK-47's filed in.  G.U.N. assault rifles quickly cut down the first ones that came in, and the remaining ones immediately reconsidered their approach.

      "Captain!  It seems that they have a strong defensive position.  If we go in through the door, we'll get cut down one by one!"

      Mackenzie slowly drew his katana.  He didn't really care for assault rifles or handguns, but he was easily as deadly with his blade in a firefight.  "I'll take care of it, then."  With that, the timber wolf, using his naturally powerful legs, jumped from his rooftop perch to the top of the staircase leading to the warehouse's interior catwalk, slicing the door off its hinges with his katana and forcing his entry.  

      However, his entry was not exactly covert, and a G.U.N. operative had turned around, spotted him, and instantly recognized him as an enemy.  "There's another!  Let'em have it!"  They opened fire, but what happened had them in awe, as well as horrified; the timber wolf was using his katana to deflect the bullets as if he were a Jedi Knight deflecting laser blasts.  Tracers were flying all over the place, until the gunfire stopped almost as soon as it started.

      Mackenzie smiled, though not in the least bit letting down his guard.  "I'm not to be underestimated."  He stated.

      "Die!"  They opened fire again, more so out of desperation.  

      This time, the timber wolf cart wheeled to the side to evade, then in a move he had practiced countless times, leaped in the air, spun on his vertical axis, and threw three throwing knives at once at his attackers.  The gunfire stopped.  As soon as Mackenzie regained his bearings, he saw that his kunai throwing knives had embedded themselves in either the hearts or the foreheads of his targets.  A self-inspection proved that his bullet evasion wasn't perfect, a few rounds had grazed him, but they'd only leave nicks and cuts.  He also saw that the SUV had disappeared, with only tire marks in its wake.  Sheathing his katana, he went for his radio.  "Gentry, what's your status?"

      On the other end, Gentry's voice came out.  "Hey Mack, we're currently in pursuit of their vehicle.  Stand by for mission update."

       "Copy, that."

            _Meanwhile, back at the Monument…_

      "Okay, it's gunfire.  So what?  It could be anything."  Sonic said through the walkie-talkie.

      "True, but random acts of violence don't usually include assault rifle fire."  Rouge countered on the other end.  She had gotten word of a firefight through the police scanner she had set up with the other equipment.  "Look, I got a feeling that this may be something big.  Call it woman's intuition."

      Sonic grumbled.  "Woman's intuition… bullsh—" he stopped when he saw the look on Amy's face, and he smiled sheepishly.  "Alright, give me…" he trailed off at the sound of cars approaching at high speed, accompanied with the occasional bang of gunfire.

      "Sonikku, look!"  Amy gasped, pointing down the street.  There was a pair of headlights skipping over to both sides of the double yellow line on the street.  A last minute evasion of an oncoming car forced the vehicle to veer onto the sidewalk… and barrel toward them.  Amy's eyes widened.  "What the—"

      "Ames, stand clear!"  Dropping the walkie-talkie, Sonic grabbed her, and dove out of the way of the vehicle, rolling on the ground a few times until they came to a stop with him on top.  Upon closer inspection, Sonic could see that it was an SUV.  

      "What the?!"  Nack stuck his head out of the sunroof.  Wasn't that just… "Sonic."  He murmured.  "What the hell is he doing here?"

      Sonic bolted up, helping Amy up.  Wasn't that just… "Nack!"  Both hedgehogs shouted simultaneously.  A search for their walkie-talkie found that his SUV had crushed it.  They were now cut off from Rouge and the others.  A second vehicle, a hummer had also cut through the grass, apparently in pursuit of Nack, but had stayed well away from the two.  "Someone else is after Nack?"  Amy reasoned.

      "It's about high time I got some answers.  Ames, stay here."

      "Hey, wai—" Too late, the hedgehog was long gone.  "Really, does he expect me to just wait?!"  With that, she took off, attempting to track down the speedy hedgehog.

      "Sonic!  Amy!  Do you copy?!"  Rouge spoke through her walkie-talkie while gliding from rooftop to rooftop.  The other end was dead.  Already, she, Tails, and Knuckles had gotten within sight of the White House by rooftop hopping, and was following a news helicopter as it raced to cover the chase.  "Oh, what happened to them?"

      "We'll worry about them later!"  Knuckles shouted.  Let's just hope your right about this!"

      "How much further?"  Tails asked.

      "It shouldn't be that far off.  The last police transmission said the chase was by the Washington Monument.  Let's just move!"

      "Oh, there's gonna be hell to pay for trying to run me and my girlfriend over.  As if I wasn't gonna kick Nack's punk ass anyways…" Sonic muttered, hot in pursuit of the chase.  It didn't take long to get the trailing car in the chase in view.  However, that was as close as he could get, with the chase going into the business district and a fair amount of traffic on the street.  Just as well, though.  With all the gunfire coming, it probably wasn't safe to get much closer.

      "Man, it would be my luck to have to run into Sonic, of all people!"  Nack spat, reloading his gun.

      "Damn, that car's armored!  We need the heavy weaponry!"  An operative shouted.

      Miller opened the trunk by letting down the back seat, producing an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) launcher.  "I think this'll have to do."  Standing through the sunroof, he fired the RPG at the pursuing Hummer, just ahead of it.  The Hummer didn't have a chance to evade, the RPG hit the ground just in front of it, and the Hummer was sent flying up in the air, tumbling end over end about thirty feet above the ground and exploding when it landed on its roof, the lone occupant of the bed area ejected to land on the asphalt with a sickening thud.

      "Damn… that's something you don't see everyday."  Sonic muttered at the sight of the Hummer flying.  "But, it looks like the way's clear."  With that, he ran faster, closing the gap between himself, and Nack.

      "Sonic's closin' fast, guys!"  Nack warned.

      Miller looked ahead to see an intersection.  Their light was already red, but they weren't slowing up.  He suddenly heard a semi's engine nearby getting closer.  No doubt, it was heading for the intersection.  "Everything will be fine."

      "Hmph.  Looks like they're pulling out all the stops."  Sonic commented.  If he didn't have to capture Nack alive, he'd have already disabled his vehicle.  But, he could do nothing more than just tail them.  Nack's SUV had reached the intersection.  The next thing he knew, there was a tanker truck crossing the intersection at cruise speed.  Nack's SUV had successfully negotiated it by going around, but the surprise had caused the driver to swerve right into a light pole, effectively blocking most of the intersection.

      "Heh, eat this!"  Nack had taken aim with an AR-15 from another operative, and shot at the tanker's payload.

      More gunfire sounded.  Then realization hit Sonic.  They were going to blow up the tanker!  Quickly, he hit the brakes, and jumped backwards to get clear of the imminent blast.  He was a little too late; the tanker's payload of fuel exploded, the blast's concussion knocking him off balance in midair, and he landed roughly, tumbling on the asphalt for a few yards before stopping on his back, dazed.  As soon as his head cleared, he sat up to survey the scene.  "Well, it could be worse," he muttered.  "I could be a dead body on the scene."  With that, he collapsed again on the asphalt.

      The G.U.N. SUV had pulled into an alleyway.  "Okay, looks like we're clear," Miller said.  "But, this complicates things.  Just what is Sonic the Hedgehog doing in D.C.  He can't be just sightseeing.  And moreover, how did  _'they'_ track us down?"

      "Just who the hell are 'they'?!"  Nack snapped.  "You saw that guy with the katana, right?  That was unreal!  What the hell is going on?!"

      "You'll be informed on a need-to-know basis, Nack."  Miller answered.  "But, there are some things I want to know as well.  When we get back to camp, I'll contact Mr. Bloodman about these developments.  Now, let's get outta here before the cops arrive."  With that, the SUV pulled out of the other side of the alley.

      "Sonikku!"  Amy yelled as she sighted the cobalt blue hedgehog standing on the sidewalk.  It had taken her five minutes after the chase concluded to track him down, and the run had left her winded.  When she finally reached him, she noticed the small cuts and scratches on him.  "Are you okay?"

      Sonic leaned against a building.  He didn't really expect her to stay at the monument.  "Yeah, I'm fine, considering what could've happened."  He answered, gesturing to the twisted, smoldering wreckage that was once a BP fuel tanker.  "Anyways—"

      "About time we tracked you two down!"  Rouge called as her group finally glided/flew down from the rooftops to meet the two hedgehogs.  "Anyway, where's Nack?"

      "You guys missed all the fun.  He disappeared again."  Sonic answered simply.  "He blew up a tanker, throwing me back some ways.  After that, I lost'em."

      "Dammit.  We'll have to wait some more."

      "Aw, not more waiting!"  Tails whined.

      "First, I need a drink."  Sonic mumbled, walking back up the street.  "I'm headed for the nearest bar.  You guys can do what you want."

      "W-wait!"  The group turned their heads to see a human in a mottled gray BDU, blood coming out of his mouth and from a bad cut on his forehead.  

      "Who the…" Rouge trailed off, and then she noticed the insignia of a golden sickle and eagle on his shoulder.  She'd seen that before somewhere…

      "Who I am is not important, since I'm doomed to die anyway."  He croaked, more blood came out of his mouth, and he collapsed on the sidewalk, the blood loss affecting him.  "I… I have valuable information about… Nack."

      "Nack?!"  The group gasped in unison.  They had no other leads on him now.  "What do you know?"  Rouge asked, crouching down to him.

      "I-I eavesdropped on a conversation involving him and his G.U.N. employers concerning his mission.  T… tomorrow, at a speech on the White House lawn, they plan to kill… kill…"

      "Kill who?"  Knuckles demanded.

      "Some guy named Donald Owens, that's all I know... I've had it.  I'm not leaving behind a corpse.  Please… stand… clear."

      "Owens?!"  Rouge gasped.  "But, why…" That's when it hit her.  Owens was leading the CIA investigation against G.U.N.  Then, another thing hit her.  He wasn't leaving a corpse.  "Oh, hell.  Everyone, stand clear!"  The group was halfway across the street when the grenades that the man pulled the pins out of detonated, blowing himself up.

      When the group made it across, Sonic sighed.  "Yep.  I really need a drink."

      "Right behind you."  Knuckles muttered.

      "Dammit!"  Mackenzie hissed from his hiding place in an alleyway.  "We've just lost six good men.  The price of the information, and this mission was too high."  He switched on his two-way radio.  "Commander, do you copy?"

      Three seconds later, a cyborgish voice came out of the other end.  "Wolf, what's your status?"

      "Commander, I've lost all of my men, and Nack is still at large.  However, we have learned of their plans.  They will strike at tomorrow's noon speech at the White House."

      A beat.  Then, after a second delay, the voice came through again.  "Understood.  I will arrive tomorrow with a strike squad.  We will rendezvous near the Arlington Cemetery.  This is our final opportunity.  We.  Cannot.  Fail."

      "Roger that.  Captain Wolf Mackenzie out."

And… that's a wrap.  Looks like someone else, besides the CIA is after Nack.  And with everyone gathering at the White House speech, you can be sure that the defecation will hit the ventilation real soon.  Until the time that Sol aligns with Polaris and Regulas, Peace!


	6. The King's Gambit

A/N:  Heh heh… oh… boy.  I really didn't plan on it being a full month before updating.  I really didn't.  However, classes really got a hold of me near the end of the semester.  And since classes ended about two weeks ago, I got… lazy.  Yep, for the better part of two weeks, I was sitting on my rear doing next to nothing.  My apologies for updating so late.  Won't happen again, now that I feel like doing something.

One more thing, there is a Freespace 2 reference in this chappy.  Try to figure out what it is.

Oh, one more disclaimer.  The Kamov Company owns the Ka-60 Kasatka and its variants.  I'm just borrowing them for now.

_Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.  Scott Dowell's house.  April 1, 2003.  2220 hours._

      "Corey!  Didn't I tell you to take your shower and go to bed?!"  Dowell yelled to his son from his Lazy-Boy in the living room, up the stairs into one of the bedrooms.  From there, he could hear the eleven-year-old Bloodhound/Golden Retriever hybrid playing NFL 2K3 on his Playstation 2 in his room.  "Shut off that damn game and get in the shower!"

      "Yessir."  The boy's meek voice replied.  Immediately after, Dowell heard the game's sound cut off.

      At thirty years old, Scott Dowell was married, and the father of two, both Bloodhound/Golden Retriever hybrids; Corey being the oldest, and the younger one, Brianna, being four years younger.  Being a Staff Operations Officer within the CIA meant that he was well paid, and he, his wife Adrienne, and his kids would be able to live comfortably.  The fact that Adrienne had recently gotten a job as a programmer within a private firm didn't hurt either.  But, it did mean that Corey and Brianna wouldn't see either of their parents for most of the day.  Frequently, Scott would dismiss Rouge early in exchange to babysit the two until either he or Adrienne got home.  For that, Rouge had almost become part of his family, well, as close a vampire bat could get to be a part of a family of canine anthropomorphs.  She was like a little sister to him, and like a big sister to the kids.  Rouge always told him that she was never good with kids, but she and his kids got along nicely.  Even to this day, she still denies to him being good with kids.

      Scott picked up the carton of Chinese food he was eating off of the small table to his side, and picked up the TV remote.  He'd already missed JAG; that came on at eight.  Wasn't there a basketball game on?  Nope, and Adrienne wouldn't be home for another half hour.  He began to channel surf, hoping beyond hope that anything would be on.  "Hmmm, it's too early for the 11 o'clock news," he said to himself.  There's got to be something good on…

      His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a cheer come from upstairs.  Wait a second, the shower never cut on!    He turned to the steps.  "Corey, get your butt in the shower otherwise I'll stomp you into the ground!"  The boy had turned off the sound on his TV and was still playing videogames.

      "I am!"  The boy whined.

      Scott got up.  "Boy, if I have to come up there, I'm putting my foot in your ass!"  Well, there's probably no harm in throwing in a little explicative to make a threat more menacing.  Besides, the boy's vocabulary of profanity was probably a lot broader from listening in on poker night with his friends.  More whining ensued from upstairs, and Scott noticed with some satisfaction that he heard footsteps from upstairs, and the shower water start to run.

      Okay, now back to channel surfing.  "What the hell?!"  Dowell cursed out loud.  

      When he first stopped surfing, the channel happened to be on CNN.  On screen was an overhead shot of a fire in an intersection in Washington D.C.  "… Witnesses say an SUV was speeding through the intersection, with world-renowned hero Sonic the Hedgehog in pursuit.  In order to throw off the hedgehog, the vehicle drove through a red light, cutting off the BP tanker, and causing it to swerve into a pole.  Then, an unknown gunman inside the SUV opened fire on the fully laden tanker, destroying it.  At least one person is dead, and four injured.  Witness say that Sonic was thrown back by the blast, but is unharmed.  Also, another—" that was all Scott needed to hear.  Surely Rouge knows about this.  Sonic and his group was her charge.  He needed answers.  With that, Scott got up from his Lazy-Boy, and headed for the cordless phone in the kitchen.

            _Washington D.C., U.S.A.  Buffalo Billiards.  Same time._

      The gang had decided to head to Buffalo Billiards with some urging from Sonic that they go to a place with a pool table.  Like most or all other pool halls in the D.C. area, the establishment was below ground level.  But once inside, if you were looking for a fallout shelter type setting that goes with every other underground pool hall, you'd be pleasantly surprised.  Buffalo Billiards is home to 30 well-kept pool tables, two full bars, two jukeboxes, several strategically placed TVs, and over a dozen tables and couches all while avoiding looking vast.  In addition, there were two separate rooms; both of which had already been rented out, and two outdoor patios; but since it was a mere 28 degrees outside, using them was unfeasible to say the least.  Normally, there'd be a 45-minute wait on pool tables, but Rouge knew the owner personally, and she and her group got first priority.

      Sonic was shooting pool alone collecting his thoughts; as was usually the case when he played alone, with the rest of the group crowded around the table.  "Okay, so we know what Nack's doing here."  Sonic mumbled to nobody in particular as he lined up a shot.  "Now what do we do?"

      "What I want to know is where the guy that blew himself up came from?  I mean, he didn't exactly look like a normal military personnel."  Tails mused.

      "Yeah," Amy agreed.  "More like… I dunno… a terrorist?"

      "More like a merc or something."  Knuckles suggested, rubbing his muzzle with his thumb thoughtfully.  He saw Rouge thinking as well, and he frowned.  "You know something about them that we don't, Rouge?"

      Sonic took a shot and looked up at Rouge expectantly, not even checking to see if his shot missed or not.  "Y'know, if we're on a need-to-know basis, I think we need to know this."

      The whole group now had eyes on Rouge.  For a few seconds, she didn't speak.  "I don't even think I know."  She answered quietly, wonderment in her voice.

      Sonic sighed, maneuvering around Amy and Tails to another side of the table to take another shot.  "That doesn't do us much good, y'know."

      A beat.  Then Rouge's face lit up with hope.  "Hold on.  Maybe Boss knows about this…" But Scott lived in Baltimore.  Meaning, he may be out of range of her cell phone.  It's strange how the thing works.  One minute, she can reach his house.  Another minute, they get her for roaming.  Well, time to roll the dice.

      Coincidentally, her black Cingular cell phone chose that time to ring and vibrate.  Rouge fished it out of her pocket and took a look at the LCD screen to see who was calling.  "Hmm, saves me some trouble."  She hit the speak button and put the phone to her ear, plugging a finger through her other ear to filter out noise.  "This is Rouge."

      "What the hell just happened?!"  Scott Dowell's voice inquired.

      Rouge blinked in surprise.  "Huh?"

      "Y'know, I'm up here in Baltimore eating some Chinese food, when I happen to change the channel to CNN.  And you know what I see?  That y'all done blew something up!"

      Rouge cringed.  Oh yeah.  The tanker.  Hold on, CNN?!  "Hold on, Boss."  She turned away from the phone.  "Hey, Rod!  Turn the channel to CNN!"

      From the bar, the African-American bartender did a double take.  "Rouge, I got five guys watching some hockey highlights!  If I turn it, they'll get—"

      "It's official CIA business!"

      Rod shrugged.  "Fine."  He picked up the remote control on the bar, and changed a TV to CNN, much to the chagrin of the five patrons watching highlights of the Washington Capital and Florida Panther contest.  Sure enough, CNN was still covering the tanker explosion.  

      After about ten seconds of letting her mouth gape at the scene, Rouge put her cell phone back to her ear.  "Oh, hell."

      "So, what happened down there?  CNN is saying that initial reports point to terrorism."

      "Well, uh, I wouldn't know.  I only got there at the end of the chase.  Sonic's probably the only one who can tell you what happened."

      On the other end, Scott seemed to consider.  "Alright, put'em on the line."

      Shrugging, Rouge held the phone out to Sonic.  "Boss wants to speak to you."  She said simply.

      Sonic eyed the cell phone questioningly, then shrugged and put it to his ear.  "Hello?"

      "Sonic, what the hell just happened down there?"

      "Dowell, we almost had'em."  Well, more like _I_ almost had him, Sonic thought.  He was just at the right place at the right time.  "The guy who blew up the tanker?  That was Nack."

      Scott gasped on the other line.  "Are you sure?!"

      "Like I would get almost blown up for nothing!  Of course I'm sure!  Also, we know what he's doing here."  Sonic looked up, a little surprised to see the group crowded around him listening in on the conversation.  "Do you know some guy named Donald Owens?"

      "Oh, yeah.  We're not exactly on good terms, but I know'em."

      "'Parently, Nack's been hired by G.U.N. to eliminate him.  Any reasons why?"

      "I can tell you that," Rouge answered from Sonic's left.  "Owens is in charge of the CIA's investigation of G.U.N.'s activities concerning those units you found on the _Rakshasa_.  Chances are that Bloodman thinks we're getting too close, so he thought if he took out the leader of the investigation, it would fall apart."  Ever since the ARK incident more than a year and a half ago, the name 'Thomas Bloodman' was no longer an anonymous one to the gang.  The bat chuckled a little.  "Well, looks like Bloodman got just a little scared and overplayed his hand.  Up until now, we had no solid evidence to convict him of high treason."  With a chuckle, she added.  "Saves us some trouble."

      "Yeah, but our purpose here is to track down Nack," Knuckles reasoned.  "So that's what we're going to do."

      Scott began speaking over the phone again, and Sonic hushed down the group.  "Knuckles is right.  Our objective here hasn't changed.  Anyway, for the record, how did you guys manage to come across this info?"

      A beat.  Sonic sighed deeply; remembering the grisly sendoff the informer gave himself.  "Alright, Dowell.  You might wanna sit down for this…"

            _Washington D.C., U.S.A.  Warehouse complex.  Same time._

      Nack jammed his clothes and equipment into his suitcase.  He had decided to pull out of the mission, even though nobody else knew about it.  This was becoming too hot for him.  It wasn't so much the fact that Sonic and his group appear to be gunning for him, but now there was another party involved?  And just from looking at how efficiently that timber wolf with that katana took down some of the G.U.N. operatives, things were looking more and more like he was in over his head.

      As he exited the small room that served as his bunk, the operation's leader, Raymond Miller, caught him from around the corner.  "Where are you going?"  He asked quizzically.

      "Where do you think?!"  Nack spat.  "I'm outta here."

      "Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!  You can't just up and leave like this!"

      The weasel snorted.  "Uh, yeah I can."  He moved to push past Raymond, but he grabbed on to his forearm roughly.

      "I guess you forgot about that $30 million Bloodman's paying you to do this job?"

      Nack twisted his arm out of Raymond's grasp and continued down the catwalk.  "It's no good to me if I'm dead.  Now if you excuse me, I'll just walk away with my 100k."

      Raymond chuckled, leaning against an office door.  "Where exactly are you going to run to?  Mexico is about 2000 miles due southwest."

      Nack hesitated for a moment.  He had forgotten the small fact that it was a long walk back to Tijuana... like that would stop him.  "I'll take my chances."

      Raymond sighed.  "You just don't understand, do you?"  He stated more than asked.  When Nack turned around, he continued, advancing towards the weasel.  "Don't forget that you made a business contract with Mr. Bloodman."  He stopped when he was about ten feet in front of him.  "Its… bad for business if you renege on it."

      "Well, too bad.  I ain't a business—" His eyes went wide.  Was that the spiral grooved barrel of a gun in his face?  He blinked.  Yep, it was.  From this distance, he had no chance of disarming him, so he cautiously held his hands to his sides.  "…What the hell…?"

      "As I said, Mr. Weasel.  Reneging on contracts is very bad for business."  There was an eerie silence, during which Nack instinctively stepped back a little, and Raymond held his ground.  "Now, here's what's going to happen.  Tomorrow, you'll fulfill your end of the contract by offing Mr. Owens, and G.U.N. will fulfill its end of the contract by assuring your safe return and paying for your services.  Understood?"  When Nack nodded slightly, he holstered his gun.  "Good.  I suggest you get some rest.  Tomorrow's a big day."

      As Nack watched the man walk back to his bunk, he couldn't help but laugh at himself.  For some odd reason, he knew something like this would happen.  If it were any other case, he would've killed them all afterwards, but as Miller said, there was some 2500 miles of U.S. real estate between him and the border.  His chances of successfully escaping were microscopic at best.

Nack walked back to his bunk.  He would have to bide his time for now…

            _Buffalo Billiards.  Same time._

      "… Say again, Sonic?"  Scott Dowell had to make sure he had heard right.  Was Sonic telling him what he thought he was?

     Sonic huffed.  "Like I said.  The guy had an insignia of an eagle on the inside edge of a sickle.  As soon as he said what needed to be said, he well… blew himself up."  A brief silence passed on both lines, making Sonic think that the bloodhound on the other end was thinking about something.  "You know something we don't?  If we're on a need-to-know basis, I think we need to know this."

      On the other side, Scott seemed to consider.  "Alright, I'll tell you what.  Tell everyone to get to Langley at 1000.  We'll fill you in on any questions you have there.  Also, we got to do some planning if G.U.N. really intends to take out Owens."  The guy may be a prick sometimes but he never wished for his death, the bloodhound didn't add.  "That's all."

      "Will do."  Sonic switched off Rouge's cell phone, tossed it back to her, and addressed everyone else.  "Well, Dowell wants us in Langley at 1000."  With a grin, he added.  "That's 10:00 for those who no habla."

      Tails rolled his eyes.  "Yes, Gunny."  He murmured, regarding the quote Sonic took from Clint Eastwood's character in _Heartbreak Ridge._

      "So, do we leave now?"  Amy asked.

      Rouge checked her watch.  "Well, we got dibs on this table for another twenty minutes.  I say we hang out here a little longer."

      "Fine by me."  Sonic shrugged, picking up his cue stick.  "Who's up for a game of 8-ball?"

      "You any good?"  Rouge smirked.  "'Cause if not, I'll run the table."

      "Maybe."  It all depended on the mood he was in.  He could either sink every shot in the world, or miss badly.

      "What about Knuckles?"  Amy asked, taking a hold of Sonic's cue stick.  All Sonic and Knuckles could do was gawk at her.  "I think he's a better player than Sonikku, here."  She said while patting his shoulder.  The two guys just gawked at her, and Amy gave Knuckles a reassuring wink.

      "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."  Sonic mumbled sarcastically, and passed his stick to Knuckles, who came out of his stupor just in time to catch it, and he let Amy drag him off to the side.  "Besides, you know full well that Knuckles is garbage in this game.  You just set'em up for failure."

      Amy grinned, taking his hand and leading them to sit on a couch.  "As far as I see it, it doesn't really matter.  Both'll get some time to talk alone."

      Sonic rolled his eyes.  "Ames?  Before we almost got ran over, and me almost blown up, what'd I say about playing Cupid?"

      "Hey, you had no hand in this, whatsoever."  She gave him an innocent look.  "This was all me."

      "Yeah, but… but… never mind."  Well, that's another lost argument to his tally.  He sighed.  "Well, this should be interesting…"

            _15 minutes later…_

      "Damn…" Sonic mumbled.  "I heard of pool sharks, but… damn."  He repeated.  Himself, Amy, and Tails had just witnessed Rouge trounce Knuckles again, the pool table devoid of solid balls plus the eight ball while there were four striped balls scattered around.  He smirked.  "Ames, I guess I gotta thank you for keeping me from getting my butt kicked."  Truth be told, that was one of Knuckles' better games, and was about his average.  

      "And man, was Knux ever sweatin' bullets…" Tails commented from his seat on the other side of Amy.

      "That's cause he's way too nervous around women…" Sonic said.

      Amy smirked, resting her head against Sonic's shoulder.  "Oh, and you weren't?  All you did for 5+ years was run away from me."

      "… That ain't the point!"  Sonic countered.  Pathetic, that was the only thing he could come up with.  "The point is… we're talkin' about Knux here.  Not me."

      "Hey, what's wrong, Red?"  Rouge asked as she racked the pool balls for another game.  It was obvious that Knuckles was tense, to say the least, as the echidna's hand maintained a death grip on his cue stick.  "Loosen up, otherwise you might break that stick in two.  Don't tell me I'm making you nervous, Mr. Stoic Tough Guy."

      Knuckles tried to play it off.  "It's not that…" Okay, that was a blatant lie.  "Uh, I just don't play much pool, that's all."

      She smirked.  "Are you sure that's all?"  A thought hit her, and she blushed a little.  "I know!  Maybe I can… teach you some things?"  A deep blush stained the echidna's cheeks.  Nonetheless, he didn't refuse.

      Tails nearly choked on the Vanilla Coke he was drinking.  "Oh, boy.  Now it gets interesting, Rouge teaching Knux how to shoot pool."

      Sonic had to fight to force down a laugh.  Oh, the possibilities… "Shut up, Tails!  You wanna get me in trouble?!"

      "Hey!  It ain't my fault you got a si—" A pillow to the face from Sonic shut him up quick.

      Right now, Rouge was having Knuckles set up for a shot to take.  When he was in position, she had him freeze.  "Okay, you should open your stance some."  She strolled over to him to fine tune his position from behind him.  Now, the blush on her cheeks was noticeable now that she was pressed against his back.  "Your back hand should be closer to the end of the stick, and spread your legs out some, around to where my foot is."

      If it were possible, Knuckles' face turned entirely red from the close contact, especially since Rouge's… chest area was pressed against his back.  "O-o-okay… now what?"  Okay, why was every muscle in his body refusing to budge?  And the sweat glands in his armpits working overtime?  Good thing he put on that extra layer of deodorant, otherwise he'd be reeking right now.

      And I thought **I** was nervous, Rouge thought.  Looking over the echidna's shoulder at his backhand determined that his death grip on the stick had somehow gotten tighter.  "Relax.  Take some deep breaths," she soothed.  On closer consideration, she might want to practice what she preached; she was pretty knotted up, too.  Though not nearly as much as Knuckles.  "Okay, now shoot!"

      Back on the couch, Tails was cracking jokes to Sonic, who was still fighting to maintain his composure, while Amy was so into the scene that she was oblivious to the two boys' antics.  "Wow, I'm surprised." Amy murmured.  "Knuckles is holding up better than I thought he would."

      Sonic swallowed down the laughter welling up, and gave her a look.  "How do you figure?  If you pushed him over now, he'd fall over and shatter!"

      She giggled.  "Well unlike **some** people I know, he didn't freak out and run away."  She said, chronicling the years Sonic ran from her before finally stopping.

      He just gave her a sheepish look.  "… That ain't the point!  The point is—"

      "Y'know, I'm betting that Knuckles is thinking 'Up periscope!  Up periscope!'"  Tails cracked.

      The laughter within Sonic came back full force, and he was forced to excuse himself to run outside to laugh his head off, while Amy looked at him wondering what his problem was.

      Knuckles blinked.  With Rouge's guidance, he had just sunk three shots in a row.  Pool now seemed a lot easier.  "Well, I guess I gotta thank you for the lessons," he murmured, a little sheepish.  Though now, the blush on his snout no longer rivaled the color of his dreadlocks.  "Maybe now, Sonic can stop making cracks about my game."  He looked over back to where the rest of the gang was, to find Sonic gone.  Hmm, probably had to go to the bathroom or something, he thought.

      An awkward silence between them followed.  Well, the two of them were in relative solitude, since the background noise kept the others out of earshot.  "Y'know, I never did thank you for saving my life back then..." Rouge said, changing the subject.

      Knuckles blinked.  This was a drastic change of subject.  "Rouge…?"

      "I just need to get this off my chest, since I only get to see you once in a blue moon, so—"

      "Hey, Rouge!  It's 11:00!  Time's up!  You ain't got to go home, but you gotta get the hell up outta here!"  Rod shouted from the bar.

      Rouge sighed.  "Fine!"  Boy, did he know how to ruin a scene.  She turned to Knuckles, smiling sheepishly.  "Well, I guess we can talk later…" she mumbled.

      "I guess so."

            _Langley, Virginia U.S.A.  CIA Headquarters, Briefing Room G.  April 2, 2003.  1012 hours._

      "Déjà vu all over again…" Sonic mumbled before taking a sip of coffee.  They were even in the same briefing room they were in two months ago when they undertook Operation Blackbeard.  Same horseshoe-shaped table, same projector, and all.  Hell, even that cracked ceiling panel was still there.

      "Well, at least nobody's sleep-depraved."  Amy said cheerily.

      "True, true…" Sonic agreed from his seat beside her, at the apex of the horseshoe.  "But, why is it that we have to wai—"

      "Sorry to keep you guys waiting!"  A hurried Scott Dowell said as he stepped into the room.  "It's a long drive from Baltimore, especially when your engine dies because of no antifreeze."  It was all too true.  The northeastern U.S. fell victim to an unusually long and brutal winter, and even at the start of April, things were still quite frosty.

      "Y'know, to tell you the truth," Rouge began.  "I'm surprised that this speech is still on, what with the temperature and all."

      "Would you rather have it tomorrow when it sleets?"  Dowell asked with a smirk.

      She smiled sheepishly, admitting defeat. "Point taken."  A glance to her left saw Knuckles with his head propped up in his hands.  She never did get a chance to talk to him last night.  Right after they got back, everyone went to sleep.  Then, everyone had to scramble out the door to make it to Langley in time, which seemed to be in vain since Dowell was running late.

      "What of Owens?"  Knuckles asked.  "Does he know about—"

      "Way ahead of you."  Scott answered.  "I already talked to him about the situation.  He said that G.U.N. targeting him might play to our advantage.  He'll go to the speech, and everything will go on as if we were none the wiser."

      Sonic blinked.  "What?  Not even a beefed up security detail?"

      "Nope.  Nack and his support might just scrub their mission if they see a significant increase in the security detail.  Owens knows that this may be our best lead on evidence against G.U.N.'s sedition, and he's willing to put his neck on the line."

      "So, I'm guessing you want us in attendance?"  Rouge asked.

      Scott smirked.  "Naturally.  Since we can't beef up security a whole lot, you five should fill in nicely.  Your job is to make sure that Owens still has his head intact when this is all said and done, and capture Nack and his G.U.N. support.  You have full authority to search all areas surrounding the White House, as well as to carry handguns."

      "Hey, Boss?  One more thing:  about that other guy that showed up last night?  The one with the insignia?"

      Scott cleared his throat.  "Oh, yeah.  You guys get to hear me ramble." Producing a sheet of paper from behind his back, he began to read.  "The following is classified level Rho.  Unauthorized access is punishable under the CIA's Security Act, Section 21.3.5… alright, skip that… okay here we go!  The Cold War ended 12 years ago with the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Since then, Russia was forced to drastically cut her defense spending, and the United States has been trying to for some time.  In 1994, the third anniversary of the Soviet Union's collapse, the United States and Russia began an unprecedented joint military endeavor off the coasts of Alaska and easternmost Siberia to promote good will, and friendship between the former Cold War enemies.  Most of their officers were seasoned in the Cold War.  They were designed as one task force with personnel from all branches of each country's armed forces.  Controlled by both countries, they fought in many small conflicts on behalf of both countries, like Bosnia, Kosovo, and most recently, Chechnya and Afghanistan."

      "Hold on, I thought the Russians said they weren't sending a military presence there."  Sonic said.

      "You're getting ahead of me."  Dowell explained.  "Let me finish.  In mid 2001, the U.S. and Russia decided that it was becoming too expensive and complicated to command the task force, so we decided to pull the plug.  However, said task force didn't agree with this notion, and instead of disbanding, they became mercenaries, taking on engagements that were too messy for other countries' armies.  Most of their commanders are Cold War relics.  They renamed themselves 'Phantoms of The Cold War,' or PoTCW.  In a sense, it's what they are; ghosts of a failed endeavor, and of a past era."

      "I guess camaraderie's hard to destroy."  Amy reasoned.  "The task force was together for the better part of ten years?"

      "Eight, to be exact."  Sonic mumbled.  "But, if these guys are mercs, who ordered them to go after G.U.N.?"

      Dowell shrugged.  "Your guess is as good as mine.  However, I thought only the CIA, and certain elements of the Pacific Fleet know about this operation.  So, who…?"

      Sonic began to think.  It didn't look like Dowell knew anything about these Phantoms being involved.  The only other people to know about what happened on the _'Rakshasa'_ last January was himself, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, Barnes and Vasquez of SEAL Team 3, and… it can't be!  It just couldn't be!  Nobody would believe him, anyway.  Everyone believed Shadow died almost two years ago during the ARK incident.  But, that's where everything was pointing.  He breathed out heavily.

      A gentle rubbing of his back broke him from his reverie.  He turned his head, to meet Amy's concerned gaze.  "Hey, what's wrong?  You've been spaced out for at least a good minute."  She commented.

      He blinked, then shook his head as he rubbed his temples.  "I gotta funny feeling about this… that's all."

            _Somewhere on the coast of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland U.S.A.  1100 hours._

      Wolf Mackenzie stood at attention overlooking the bay, awaiting the reinforcements that would be arriving momentarily.  He had his katana; which was actually a high frequency blade able to cut through virtually anything with precision, at attention to his side.  No matter how many times his superiors explained this mission to him, he still didn't like it.  The Phantoms, or Phantoms of The Cold War (PoTCW), as was their official name, did everything in their power not to upset the United States or their allies, lest be branded another terrorist faction.  He was well aware that the CIA was actively hunting down Nack for their own purposes, and he had even seen Sonic and his group on the scene.  Was their own hunt for Nack worth interfering in the CIA's official business?  Of course, that wasn't up to him to decide.  If it were, he would've scrubbed the mission already.

      Some blue sparks appeared in the air above him, and Wolf stepped back instinctively.  Quickly, that spark turned into a large blue sphere, and it almost immediately took on the shape of a helicopter; a Ka-60 Kasatka to be exact.  Within a second, the Kasatka finished materializing, and began its final approach to land.  When it did land, the cabin doors opened, and three soldiers in the same mottled gray camouflage BDU's (Battle Dress Uniforms) piled out and stood at formation at either side of the door, saluting the person who exited last, who wore all black gear, including a helmet that covered his/her entire head, tinted visor included, black gloves, body suit, and shoes.  

      Wolf saluted the figure as well, and the salute was returned.  "At ease."  The all black figure said in a voice that was obviously altered.  It carried with it a cyborgish quality.  "Wolf, report."

      "Commander, Bravo Team reports that they are in position.  They should be ready when we arrive."

      The black figure lifted up its visor, exposing the crimson eyes of a hedgehog framed by black fur.  Shadow then switched off the voice filter in his helmet and spoke in his regular voice.  "Excellent… you still seem to be in disagreement with our orders, my friend."

      "Yes," Wolf admitted.  "This mission has the potential to make the U.S. Government look at us with untrusting eyes."

      Shadow nodded.  "Agreed.  However, I don't think the CIA is aware of what intel Nack might hold.  It just may go further than the location of bases, installation, and egg carrier fleet movements.  As soon as we're done with him, we will turn him over to the proper authorities."

      "And what if this mission fails?"  Wolf argued.

      Shadow hesitated for a moment before answering.  "We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it.  Now come.  The speech starts in under an hour."

      "Yes, sir."  With that, Shadow closed his visor, and Wolf sheathed his katana before the two boarded the Kasatka.

…Annnnnnd cut!  Okay everyone, take five!  You're gonna need it!  Next scene, the defacement is gonna hit the ventilation!  See ya soon… really!  I mean it!  I will update soon!

Sonic: Like you said two chapters ago?

Garoad:  Shut up, otherwise I'll smoke so much bud, I'll put you and Amy in a romance fic that's too cute and mushy for common sense!  … Maybe I'll feel like swan diving into the Ohio River after my high is gone, but I'll do it!  Don't test me!

Sonic:  … I think I'll shut up now…


	7. Love The Treason

Okay, peeps.  I know I got some 'splanin' to do.

Sonic:  (holding a Louisville slugger) **Some** explaining?!  You left this frickin' story to collect dust for the last two months!  You got mass explainin' to do!

Oh, shut up!  Anyways, I caught this thing called appendicitis—

Sonic:  You were only out for a week with that!!  Stop playin'!

Then, my comp went down with a corrupted hard drive—"

Sonic:  For two weeks!  Two frickin' weeks!  What other excuses you got?!

… Other than that, I just plain sat on my ass. ^^;

Sonic:  I rest my case.  Lazy good-for-nothin'!

Oh, shut up!  You'll live!

Also, I wanna thank some peeps.  Ryuko, English Bloke, and General Dragon, thanks for stickin' with this!  You guys rock!

Oh, and just a little warning, halfway through this, there'll be a lot of things happening at once.  Hope you peeps don't get confused.  Okay, on with it!

            _San Francisco, California U.S.A.  Thomas Bloodman's mansion, study.  April 2, 2003.  0830 hours, local time._

      "It's a shame…" Thomas Bloodman said to himself.  Right now, most of his personal belongings had been moved out of the mansion, and onto a boat in San Fransisco Bay.  After today, there was probably no turning back.  Whether or not Nack and his group succeeded in their mission, he figured that the CIA would still be on G.U.N.'s trail.  Only difference was if the mission was successful, he'd figured that G.U.N.'ll have maybe an extra month or two to resettle itself among Dr. Robotnik's ranks before the CIA is able to regroup itself, complete its investigation, and expose G.U.N.'s treasonous intentions.  Then again, the CIA probably already knew if Sonic the Hedgehog and his group were in D.C.  One of his top operatives, Raymond Miller, was the one to report about that.  Another area of concern addressed by the same operative was Nack's reported discord with the mission.  Well, he wasn't really all that concerned with it.  He had always considered Nack a wild card, and like the cerebral tactician that he was, had accounted for every possible scenario he could think of.

      However, one thing bothered him:  the PoTCW.  What were their objectives in D.C.?  How did they know of his operatives' location?  And how much did they know?  Ever since the destruction of the E.C. _Rakshasa_ more than two months ago, the mercenary group had become a nuisance to him and more so to Dr. Robotnik.  At first, they would just send out small noncombatant surveillance squads to scout out bases for activity.  But, as the months wore on, those squads turned into armed and highly trained commando raids.  Most of them causing significant damage, but none of them really committing to destroy key strongholds and bases.  He was sure these raids have been more severe to the doctor's forces.

      Bloodman was brought out of his reverie by a knock on the open mahogany door.  He turned around, regarding the person who now stood in the doorjamb.  "Ah, Sarah.  Is everything done?"

      The strawberry blonde woman nodded.  "All bases report that all units are ready to ship on a moment's notice.  They're just waiting for your order."

      "And what of the committee?"  .

      "Well, there is some discord among them concerning your actions.  Namely, investing our future in one of the world's most wanted men."  Sarah answered, presenting a file folder to the man.  "I was able to compile a list of all significant personnel who've expressed strong objections to your plans," she gave Bloodman a few moments to glance at the list, and before he had the chance to dismiss it, she added, "and several board members are on that list."  For a long while, Bloodman just calmly studied the list inside the file folder.  When he gave no indication of a reaction, Sarah became puzzled.  "Well?  Any thoughts?"

      Bloodman just shrugged.  "This doesn't concern me right now.  Once everyone else sees what I've seen, they'll come around in due time.  Now, let's head out.  Our jet awaits."

            Washington D.C., U.S.A.  In a van a few blocks west of the White House.  1200 hours.  Same day.

      "Okay!  We're live!"  Tails announced through his headset in a surveillance van.  He scanned the four black and white TV monitors in front of him inside the van, making sure he got a picture from all the strategically placed cameras in the area.  "Video recon's online.  What's your status, people?"

      A beat.  Then, Rouge's voice came in over the comm.  "Alpha Team, here.  It's a bit cold out here.  Other than that, me and Red are good."  Yep, it was yet another cold one for the northeast.  Currently, the temperature was only at 26°F, with a wind chill of 15°F.

      Another beat.  Then, Sonic's voice came in.  "Bravo Team, here.  We're freezing our asses off out here… and how the hell did we end up as the 'B-Team?!'"

      Tails grinned.  "Sonic, if that's your only complaint, then I guess you and Amy are okay."  His voice turned a little more serious.  "Are you sure you and Amy'll be okay together?  I mean, she's still green compared to the rest of us."

      "We'll be fine," Sonic reassured.  "Ames may not be a regular combatant per se, but she can more than handle herself out here.  As long as we don't run into a firestorm, which I seriously doubt we will, we'll be cool.  Besides, all I need is an extra set of eyes."

      "Okay then, Sonic."  Scott Dowell acknowledged, who was also in the van sitting behind Tails occupying the other four TV monitors.  "You guys have a lot of ground to cover, so this won't be easy.  Stay frosty out there."

White House, just outside the north gate.

      Oh that'll be easy to do, Sonic thought bitterly as he resumed his patrol.  Dowell and Tails had the luxury of staying inside a heated van while himself, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge were exposed to the harsh elements.  He and Amy were assigned to cover point while Rouge and Knuckles were given perimeter duty.  Go figure on that one, he thought.  "Ames, how're you holding up back there?"  He asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

      "Oh just fine, considering that I lost feeling in my toes some five minutes ago."  Came her sarcastic reply.  "Really, why can't this little speech take place indoors!?"

      Sonic chuckled, pausing to blow into his cupped hands to warm them up.  "That's what I wanna know.  That would've at least made finding Nack loads easier."  He sighed.  "Instead, we got wide open spaces, and a 15° wind chill!"  Then, he added in a mumble.  "Oh, yeah.  When we find him, his ass is grass!  I'm gonna break every bone in his body while still keeping him alive, douse'em in gasoline, burn'em, then piss in the ashes."  Abruptly, he switched on his walkie-talkie to talk into it.  "Hey, Rouge, Knux!  What's your location?"

      On the other end, Rouge answered Sonic's hail on her walkie-talkie.  "Rouge here.  We're at the northern end of Lafayette Park."

      Both hedgehogs blinked.  Looked at each other for an explanation but got none.  "Uh, you lost us there.  We ain't exactly natives of the D.C. area."

      "It's that big clearing with the trees, walking paths, and that big statue of Marquis de Lafayette—"

      "Oh!"  Sonic and Amy exclaimed in unison.  They looked up.  Blinked again.  "But, isn't that Andrew Jackson right smack dab in the middle?"

      Rouge chuckled.  "Yep.  Go figure on that one.  If I remember right, Lafayette's statue is actually on the southeast corner.  Each corner has a statue of a European military hero during the American Revolution…  Let's see, on the southwest—"

      "Maintain radio silence, people!"  Dowell interjected in the conversation.  "This channel isn't for idle chit-chat!  Remember, we have an operative who's willingly putting his life on the line here, so cut the chatter and stay focused!"

      "Heh, even if this Owens guy's an asshole?"  Knuckles joked, earning an elbow to the ribs from Rouge.

      Dowell and Rouge had to chuckle at that.  "Rouge!" The bloodhound chastised.

      After Rouge finished laughing, she answered.  "Okay, so I may have leaked a few things to my friends, but nobody ever classified that information, so there!"  And the whole group shared a laugh at that.

      "Well, an asshole he may be, he's still our asshole."

      Sonic shrugged.  "I guess everyone needs an asshole in their lives."  Looking through the White House gate, he could see Donald Owens among the crowd of U.S. and Ukrainian officials attending the announcement of the U.S. sending a new military aid package to the Ukraine.  There wasn't much in the form of civilian attendance. 

      "Yeah, well I wanna keep this one alive."

      "Hey!  You guys aware that there's a kid listening to all this profanity?!"  Amy said through Sonic's walkie-talkie.  

      Tails moaned on his headset and the rest of the group went quiet for a moment to think.  Finally, Sonic chimed in.  "Ames, for one thing, he's thirteen now.  Secondly, he hangs around Knux and me.  If he doesn't know how to cuss by now, shame on him!"

      "Alright, people!  This time, I mean it.  Kill the chatter!"  Dowell warned.

      "Hey, guys!  I think I got something!"  Tails exclaimed on his headset.  "I'm seeing an SUV with rent-a-car plates, going west on K Street!  Sonic, Amy, do you by chance remember the number on the plates of the SUV that almost ran you guys over?"

      "Well, what's the plates on that one?"  Amy asked.  She didn't quite memorize the entire number.  If this one matched the pieces she remembered, it may be a match.

      "Hang on.  Lemme zoom in…" Tails started.  "…Okay, it's KDH-3827."

      Amy thought for a moment.  Yeah, that sounded close enough.  "I think that's it!"

      Sonic looked at her.  "You sure?"  Amy nodded, albeit hesitantly.  "Then that's our target.  I'll track'em down!"

      But, before the blue hedgehog could make a move against the suspected SUV, Dowell's voice came through the radio.  "Sonic, hold your position!  We need you and Amy to stay on point!"

      He did a double take.  "What the hell!?"

      "Listen.  Rouge and Knuckles can handle the SUV.  Since you guys are on point, you two must stay put."

      Yeah, in theory, it made sense, Sonic had to admit.  But, why did he have to be on point?  Not a good decision, nonetheless, one he would have to abide by.  "Fine."  He agreed reluctantly.

      "Okay, we got'em." Rouge said through her radio.  She and Knuckles were hopping from rooftop to rooftop, trailing the SUV.  "He's still on K Street, heading west."

      "Copy that," Dowell responded over the radio.  "Try and get a good look at who's inside.  We don't want to be chasing ghosts."

      "Gotcha!"

            _Somewhere near Farragut Square…_

      "Yep, there they go…" Raymond Miller muttered upon seeing Rouge and Knuckles jump over the alley he, Nack, and another G.U.N. operative, a human looking to be in his early thirties, were ducked in.  "Guess we gotta thank our mole in the CIA for letting us in on the new security detail."  Looked like it was wise to rethink their plan once they saw that the PoTCW was on the scene.  The coyote took out a map of D.C. for the three to look at.  Various spots were marked on it north of the White House.  "Alright.  Looks like they don't have any cameras near our sniping position, so we don't have to worry about'em."  He reached for the radio attached to his belt.  "Mason, what's your status?"

      A beat.  Then, an answer came from the other end.  "Miller, I have Rouge and Knuckles in my rear view mirror some fifty yards behind me.  I'm about to turn onto 20th street now."

      "Roger that.  Lead them away from the area, but don't be too obvious about it."  He switched off his radio, and looked at his two teammates.  "Let's go.  We only have one shot at this."  He now looked at Nack.  "And don't try to pull anything on us, Mr. Weasel."

      The cowboy hat wearing, trench coated weasel only grunted a response.  'Don't try to pull anything on us,' he says.  Well, how about last night when that same man pulled a gun on him?!  You just don't do that and expect full compliance, he thought bitterly.  But then again, he probably has no other choice… or does he?

            _Heading north on 20th Street…_

      "Damn!  I can't see a thing in there!"  Knuckles cursed while he and Rouge trailed behind the SUV by some thirty yards.  The tinted windows prevented them from getting a positive identification on anybody that might be inside.  "Rouge, even my patience is running low.  I say we just stop it."

      "Not on a busy street like this, Red."  The bat countered.  "A confrontation here is too risky."  The SUV suddenly made a left turn on M Street, and Rouge subsequently reached for her radio to report.  "Rouge here!  The SUV just made a turn onto M Street, heading west… I don't like the feel of this."  She muttered under her breath.

      "What?"

      "I figured that they'd double back east on L Street to get back near Lafayette Park—okay, they're turning south on 21st street."

      Knuckles shrugged.  "Maybe they just made a wrong turn."  He suggested.

      The bat shook her head grimly.  "No.  G.U.N. operatives just don't make wrong turns in D.C."  Again, Rouge went to her radio.  "Sonic, Amy, come in!"

      A beat.  Then, Sonic's voice came in.  "We're bored.  What's up?"

      "Well, the SUV we're tailing has led us a ways away from our patrol route.  You guys'll have to cover for us until we get back."

      A laugh.  "Well, I ain't complaining!  We're heading out!"

            _Just north of Lafayette Park…_

      "Okay, everything should go as planned, even with Sonic here." Miller said as the trio climbed a service stairwell inside the building with their sniping point.  Their plan called for them to take their shots from a window in a building just north of the park.  Only himself, and Nack carried carriers of disassembled PSG-1s.  The third man was there just to make sure everything went according to plan… and to make sure Nack didn't try to renege like he did last night.

      As soon as they were seven floors up, Miller opened the door to the main part of the building, allowing their point man and Nack in first.  "Alright," the coyote whispered.  "If anyone sees us, just walk as if you belong here."

      Nack sighed.  "Been there, done that."

      For the entire trip, their hallway was empty.  A short walk later, they stopped at a door.  "This is it, boys."  Miller said as he fished around for a key in his pocket.  "We take our shots, and we're home free."  Taking the key out, he unlocked the door and opened it, revealing an unlit room with only the natural light pouring from a small window as the only illumination.  

      Nack just looked at Miller, shaking his head.  "This is too obvious."  He stated.  "The snipers know to watch the windows—"

      At that, Miller just smirked.  "Just as I suspected from an expert sniper.  Actually," He bent down and pulled a couple of vertical intentionally loose bricks out of the wall some two yards apart from each other.  "We're just using these as portholes."  The two new holes were so low one would have to lie prone to fire through them.  "Now, let's get to work."

      Even in the limited light of the room, assembling a PSG-1 for Nack was like an afterthought although there wasn't much to assemble; just the five-round clip and the tripod.  As he did, he had time to think.  If he decided to renege, assuming he did succeed in taking down Miller and the lookout guy, he'd be on his own in the middle of D.C.  Basically put, his odds of survival would be at zero.  At least if he did follow orders and G.U.N. stuck to their end of the deal, he'd have some chance of escaping with his life.  "Okay, I'm ready."  He announced as he slid the barrel of his rifle through the porthole.  "Let's get this done and finish our business."

      Miller nodded.  "I'm guessing you decided to cooperate?"  He asked while he slid the barrel of his PSG-1 through the porthole.

      Nack just glared at him while fishing out a pack of Marlboros out of his trench coat, lighting one and letting it hang in his mouth.  "Yeah, but don't get any ideas.  I still won't forget that you pulled a gun on me."

      The coyote merely shrugged.  "It was the only way you'd listen.  Alright, let's get to work.  First, we take out the snipers on the roof."  With that, the two trained their weapons on the two snipers on the roof of the White House…

            _White House, stairwell leading to the roof.  Same time._

      "Blue Team, what's your status?"  Shadow's altered voice sounded through Blue Leader's almost silenced radio.  As far as Blue Leader knew, nobody but his closest comrades and superiors heard him speak in his real voice; and there weren't that many people.

      "Comrade Commander, we are near the roof.  All that remains is for us to incapacitate the sharpshooters and disable the Stinger battery on the roof."  If there was any indication that the gray fox was from Georgia (the former U.S.S.R. republic, not the state), it was the heavy accent in his hushed voice.  It had Caucasus written all over it.

      "Copy that, Blue Leader.  Our Kasatka will be entering Washington's restricted airspace within a few minutes.  Remember that we are not to use lethal force on anyone.  Move swiftly!"

      "Understood.  Blue Leader, out."  With that, all four members of Blue Team made their way up the steps and onto the roof.  The roof itself was situated so that there was a raised section in the middle.  As they made their way around this raised section and rounded a corner, the site they saw shocked them:  an already dead sharpshooter, apparently shot in the head.

            _Sniping point.  Same time._

      Nack exhaled after he took a long drag of his cigarette.  Okay, that was easy.  And good thing they also packed suppressors for both PSG-1s, otherwise they would've drawn the attention of every single law enforcement and federal agent within a three-mile radius.  "Alright, now for the main man—who the hell?!."  Looking into his scope, he saw more people on the roof, dressed in green mottled camouflage.  Upon closer inspection, there was a patch of the Ukrainian flag on the left forearm of the BDU.  "Why are there Ukrainian soldiers on the roof?!"  He asked Miller.

      "Those aren't Ukrainian soldiers."  Miller answered grimly.  "Foreign soldiers, either Iraqi, or Canadian, or British just don't just stand on the White House roof."

      "Then…"

      "_Them_ again… drop'em!"

            _White House roof.  Same time._

      "Commander, we have two dead snipers on the roof, both of them shot in the head!"  Blue 2 hissed in his radio in a clear American accent.

      A beat.  "Understood," Shadow responded.  "Just concentrate on neutralizing that Stinger Battery.  Our ETA to restricted airspace is approximately one minute, thirty seconds."

      "Blue Leader's down!  Blue Leader's down!"  Somebody inadvertently shouted.

      Blue 2 groaned from behind his cover, whilst soundless, tracerless rounds ricocheted off of the cement wall.  That'll definitely attract attention.  "Blue 4 and 5, get to work on that Stinger battery.  Blue 3, grab a sniper rifle and help me find our sniper.  Do not open fire."

      "Copy that."

      "And if the security detail does show up, do not resist, but only if we have disabled the Stinger battery."  With that, Blue 2 and three basically crawled to where to either side of the roof where the dead snipers lay…

            _Sniping point.  Same time._

      "We're wasting time and rounds." Miller muttered.  "It's not like they're a hindrance to our mission.  Let's just take out Owens and bring it on home."

      "On one condition:  I'm the one who takes the shot.  That asshole's the one who wrongly dismissed me from the CIA, and like some retribution."  Nack replied.

      "Agreed."  With that said, Nack lowered his sites to the attendees of the announcement, searching for his target in the crowd…

            _White House, roof.  Same time._

      "The sniper fire's stopped."  Blue 3's Siberian accented voice reported on his radio.  He had been making himself a fairly accessible target for the last few seconds.  Mind you, he still had a sense of preservation, so he ducked in and out of cover.

      "Blue Group!  What's your status?!  We're seconds away from breaching restricted airspace!"  This time, Captain Wolf Mackenzie's voice sounded through the comm.

      "Comrade Captain, we're—"

      "The Stinger battery's disabled!  Move in!"  Blue 5's American accented voice sounded through the comm.

      Wolf audibly breathed a sigh of relief on the channel.  "Good, get yourselves out of there!  We're inbound!"

            _Sniping point.  Same time._

      "Bingo!"  Nack exclaimed and took another drag of his half smoked Marlboro.  He had finally picked Donald Owens out of the crowd.  "I'm droppin' the hammer…" With that, Nack's right index finger applied presser to the trigger…

Hello?  Is anyone still reading this?  If so, if you made it this far down, how about leaving a comment or two in the form of a review, alright?  Hoorah!  And I'll try not to—

Sonic:  Garoad, why don't you do yourself a favor and quit while you're ahead.  You know you can't stay to your word!

Wanna bet?!  Two weeks, no more.

Sonic:  Oh, that's been shot down…


	8. Confrontation

Yo, peeps!  Wow, I haven't updated in a minute, have I?  Truth be told, I had to do a little soul searching and decide whether or not I wanted to join the U.S. Armed Forces.  Civilian life is getting me nowhere, especially in 'Deadcinnati', Ohio.  The Army's active recruiting me, telling me that I scored so high on the ASVAB that I could have any job I want, but my heart's with the Air Force.  If I manage to clear medical waivers, chances are I'll go with the Air Force instead.  Well, don't mean to get you peeps entangled in my internal struggles, so I'll just kill this rant. *Shoots*

Before we start, I just want to thank everyone who reviewed this fic.  I'm most grateful for the feedback. *salutes*

Other things I'm grateful for:  Command & Conquer Generals for having a most inspiring soundtrack.  Also the best strategy game ever, IMHO.

Enough time wasted, let's go!__

_Washington D.C.  U.S.A.  Lafayette Park.  April 2, 2003.  1212 hours._

      Screaming.  That was the first thing Sonic and Amy heard from the other side of the gate, and what tipped them off that something was horribly wrong.  They turned around to see that the attendees had abandoned their seats in a panic, some of their steel chairs tipped over, and everyone running every which way; utter chaos.

      "What the hell…" Sonic started before he added two and two together.  "Oh, shit!  Owens!  Ames, stay put!"  And before Amy could object, Sonic had already streaked towards the White House's north gate.  He cleared the gate cleanly, and what he saw amongst the chaos made his entire body go numb.  Slumped over in his seat, the back of his head covered in blood, was the body of one Donald Owens.  Meanwhile, the scrambling of Secret Service agents and shouts of 'Protect the President!' could be seen and heard closer to the White House.  "Oh… shit…" It didn't take a coroner to see that he had his skull ventilated, or an investigation to determine that Nack had done the deed.  "I didn't hear a thing.  Not even a gunshot."

      Amy had cleared the fence with a little help of her hammer and was running towards the scene  "Sonikku!"

      "Amy!  Don't come any closer!"  Sonic warned.

      "Wha—" Too late.  She was already close enough to see Nack's handiwork.  Truth be told, she'd never seen a 'live' dead body before, even when she watched the events of Operation Blackbeard unfold from a camera Sonic had on him, and the scene more than got to her.  "Oh my God!"  

      "I told you not to come any closer!"

            _Sniping point.  1214 hours._

      Nack threw the butt of his smoked cigarette to the side.  Well, he couldn't say he made a better shot.  Got him right in the middle of the back of the head.  Chances are, the same round came out through his forehead as well.  He looked into his scope again, panning it upward.  The bare tree branches on the lawn offered little interference.  He smiled.  "Hey, I can pick off Dugan from here!"

      "Although it's a good idea, we shouldn't bite off more than we can chew."  Raymond Miller said.  "Anyway, we achieved our objectives.  I'm calling for our extraction."

      "Fine, fine."  He panned his scope down.  An even more satisfying target made itself known.  "Well, Sonic.  Nice of you to make yourself a target…" With Sonic's head in his crosshairs, he pulled the trigger…

      …But at the same time, he unexpectantly jerked, the spasm spoiling his aim…

            _White House, north lawn.  Same time._

      Sonic and heard something hit the ground dangerously close to him, and that's when the warning bells went off in his head.  "Oh, shit!  He's sniping us!  Amy, let's go!"  In a move long ago mastered, he ran to the girl, scooped her up and darted for the nearest cover in one fluid motion.  As soon as he was behind a group of trees, he set her back on her feet, let her use him for cover, and went for his radio.  "Everyone, listen up!  Owens is down!  The shit has hit the fan!  Say again, the shit has hit the fan!!"

      "What the hell?!  How did this happen?!"  Dowell snapped.

       "Sniper fire!  Now, Nack's shooting at targets of opportunity, and he damn near took me out!  Where are Knux and Rouge?!"

      "We're just north of Lafayette Park!"  Rouge answered on the comm. line.   "Dammit!  We took the bait and they got us hook, line, and sinker!"

      "Yeah, well…" Tails trailed off.  Why was he hearing a helicopter this close.  This was supposed to be restricted airspace, right?  If even a passenger jet passed through, they'd be shot down.  "Do you guys hear that?  It sounds like a chopper!"

      "Helicopter?"  Rouge questioned.  "I can hear it plain as day, but this is restricted airspace!  How is it still flying?!"

      "There it is!"  Knuckles pointed into the eastern sky.

      Rouge took a look.  When she identified the make, her eyes went wide.  This was just getting better.  "Boss, you're not gonna believe this, but there's a Ka-60 Kasatka flying over the city to the east."

      From his seat, Dowell almost dropped his coffee.  "Kamov chopper?!  That's impossible!  There are no registered Russian-made helicopters in this country!"

      "Yeah, well, I know what I see!"

            _Sniping point.  1216 hours._

      "I do not believe this shit!"  Nack ranted.  "I had'em in my sights!"  He said, emphasizing the last three words.  "And then, I just… spasmed?!"

      Just then, the man assigned to lookout came in the room.  "Guys, we have a problem.  A Ka-60 Kasatka has been sighted over the city."

      That got Miller doing a double take.  "What the hell?!  The Stinger battery on the White House roof should've opened…" he then added two and two together.  "So, that's what they were doing.  Disabling the Stinger battery.  Okay, we gotta leave now!"

      "Miller, this is Mason!"  Mason, the driver said through Miller's radio.  "I'm ready to go at the back door."

      "10-4, Mason.  We're on our way."  Click.  "Alright, let's go!"

            _Kasatka, en route to the White House._

      "Seems we're too late to stop the blood from spilling."  Wolf said, looking down at the dispersed crowd on the White House lawn.  Looking down hard enough, he could see one lone body among the rows of tipped over chairs.

      "True," Shadow agreed, the voice filter on his helmet still on.  "But we can still salvage our mission.  First thing's first.  We must extract Blue Team from the roof."

            _White House, north lawn.  1218 hours._

      "What the hell?!"  Sonic murmured.  Yep, it was a Kasatka, all right.  But, why was it passing directly over the White House, and still intact?  Moreover, it was now **hovering** over it, now descending over it.  Just what was going on?!  He went for his radio.  "Dowell, can any of your surveillance cameras see this?"  He asked somehow calmly, considering that he and Amy were being sniped at not too long ago."

      A beat.  "Yeah, I'm seeing it.  I just don't get it—hang on!  Some people are getting inside."

      "Want me to go see what's up?"

      A beat.  "Negative.  Just find out where Nack is."

      Rouge's voice cut in.  "Already on it, Boss.  Me and Knux are doing a search and clear of all possible sniping points!"

            _Just north of Lafayette Park.  1220 hours._

      "Rouge, this is like finding a needle in a haystack!"  Knuckles complained as they glided from building to building.  "Any building within a direct line of site of the White House can be a prime sniping point!"

      "I know," the bat agreed.  "That's why we need a little luck.  Let's split up!  You take the east side, I'll take the west!"

      "Agreed!"  With that, Knuckles glided off to check the buildings on the east side of Lafayette Park, leaving the bat to her own devices.

            _Two minutes later, just outside the sniping point…_

      "I think this is it…" Rouge said to herself.  Clinging to the outside wall seven floors up, she noticed that two vertical bricks were removed from the wall a couple of yards from each other.  Peering into the portholes, several bullet casings littered the floor.  The inside of the room also reeked of gunpowder.  She went for her radio.  "Guys, I found out where Nack was!  Looks like he was a little messy cleaning up his mess."

      A beat.  Then, Sonic's voice came in.  "Was?  You mean he's not there anymore?"

      "Well, seems that way."

      "Good.  That means Amy and I can move without our heads getting taken off—and it looks like that Kasatka's heading in your general direction.  We're moving out!"

      "Then I'm going in alone.  Keep me updated on that Kasatka.  If I don't report back in five minutes…" she let the sentence trail off.  She didn't want it to come to that.  "…I'll report back in five minutes.  Rouge out."  With that, she switched off her radio.  "Okay, he's probably on his way to the ground floor," she reasoned to herself.  "If I just go in through the window, I'll be playing catch up the whole time.  Might as well wait for him out here."  She could clearly hear the constant beating of the Kasatka's rotor blades behind her, getting louder with each passing moment, even as she was climbing laterally to the right corner of the building she was latched onto.  "Who'd be flying a—" she cut herself off as she remembered the morning's briefing in Langley.  "The Phantoms?!  Do they want Nack so badly they're willing to fly a chopper in the middle of Washington's restricted airspace and risk getting shot down?!"  She looked back towards the sound of the Kasatka's rotor blades chopping the air to see it head toward her.

            _Inside the Kasatka…_

      "So… Nack seems to have completed his objectives."  Wolf observed through his port side window, seeing the body of Donald Owens still slumped over in the chair.  "And wasn't that just Sonic the Hedgehog I just saw run for some trees?"  Surely the other crewmembers of the Kasatka must've seen him.  Moreover, any mention of Sonic at the scene would've had his superior on alert.  The timber wolf looked behind him to find that Shadow still sat impassively, his visor down.  Although Wolf couldn't see his face, he could probably guess that he was in deep thought.  "Something amiss, Commander?"  He inquired.

      This definitely wasn't going as Shadow had predicted.  Two months ago onboard the _Rakshasa_, Shadow was sure that if he'd direct Sonic to that cache of G.U.N. hardware, the Phantoms would just leave G.U.N. to the powers that be.  The one thing he didn't count on was that Bloodman would bring Nack into the mix to do his dirty work.  Shadow was also willing to bet that the CIA wanted Nack for the same reason his team was sent after him:  information.  And now, both he and Sonic are in the same place, trying to achieve the same objective, but for two different entities.  If his superiors knew that the CIA had enlisted the help of Sonic and his squad to track down Nack long before the order was given, this mission might have been scrubbed… well, he did have command authority, right?  If he wanted, he could order mission abort and go back to Echo Base in Vladivostok empty handed.  He shook off the thought.  He had his orders.  He had to achieve his objectives no matter who was present.

      "Commander?"  Wolf repeated.  This time, he did get a response in the form of a grunt.  "Something on your mind?"

      "Hmm… I guess I'll tell you when we get back to Vladivostok."  Shadow answered through his artificial voice.

      "Comrade Commander!  Radar has picked up two new air contacts three quarters of a click due west of us!  Possibly gunships from the ground!"  The Kasatka's systems officer announced.

      "Customs enforcement?"  Wolf guessed.

      Shadow nodded.  "Quite possibly.  If so, they'll be in civilian Blackhawks, meaning although they won't have a mini gun on the side, they still have a crew armed with M16 assault rifles."  He reached down to grab his own AK-74.  "So prepare for gunship to gunship battles."

      "What are our rules of engagement?"  One soldier asked, a moderate Russian accent coloring his voice.

      "Simple."  Shadow remarked.  "We're passive.  Do not fire unless fired upon.  We are to minimize casualties, after all."

      "Comrade Captain!  Comrade Commander!  You might want to come take a look at this!"  Another soldier holding binoculars called from the starboard side window.

      "What is it?"  Shadow asked, picking his way through the Kamov's cabin.

      "It's better that you come see for yourself, sir."  With that, he handed the helmet-clad hedgehog the binoculars and pointed down to the streets below.  "You see that SUV in that alleyway, sir?"  The soldier asked.  When Shadow nodded, he went on.  "Well, not only did that vehicle just arrive, but it looks like the exact same SUV our forces pursued last—"

      "It is!"  Moreover, he happened to pan up the building on the left side to see Rouge on the corner of the building.  There was no mistaking it now.  Nack's position was ascertained.  He picked his way to the cockpit.  "Gorevoy, change vector to that building over there.  This time, he won't escape!"

            _Back on the ground…_

      Rouge warily peered around the corner and into the alley just in time to see an SUV pull out of the other end.  "Dammit, I'm too late!"  She hissed to herself.  Again, she reached for her radio.  "Hey, guys!  I just saw the same exact SUV Red and I were tailing a few minutes ago pull out of the alley way I'm at."  She allowed herself to descend to the ground from her perch before continuing.  "I don't know about you guys, but I'm willing to bet my paycheck that Nack was in there."

      "Which way is he heading?"  Knuckles' voice cut through the radio.  "I'm probably in the best position to intercept."

      "Hold on!  You're not leaving me outta this!"  Sonic protested on the frequency.  "Anyway, which way?"

      The increasingly louder beating of the Kasatka's propellers made Rouge look upward to it as it maneuvered west to give chase to the SUV.  She shrugged.  "Well, I guess if you follow the Kasatka, you can't go wrong."

      Sonic laughed a little.  "I guess that's good advice.  Tails, get over here and get Amy.  Knux, Rouge, let's haul!"

      "Hold on a sec.," Dowell interjected.  "I just received a report that two Customs Enforcement choppers are now on intercept course for the Kasatka.  Stay frosty."

      "Right!"

            _One minute later…_

      "What do you mean I can't follow you?!"  Amy protested on the radio to Sonic.  "You know as well as I do that me and Tails can take care of ourselves!"

      Sonic, meanwhile, was on the run while keeping a vigilant eye on the Kasatka.  "That may be the case, normally.  But, given that we went from having no choppers overhead to three within five minutes kinda makes things a lot more unpredictable.  That, and I think there's more to this than meets the eye— SHIT!!!"  He had run out into the street almost blindly some fifty yards behind Nack's SUV, and assault rifle fire sprayed from its back window.  Sonic strafed and cart wheeled evasively, barely avoiding getting shot until he safely ducked into an adjacent alley across the street.  One unfortunate motorist was shot in the head by a stray round, and the now out of control car ended up crashing into the corner of a building, where it exploded spectacularly.  After staring at the scene for a few minutes, appalled by G.U.N.'s use of weapons in an urban environment and shocked by his own recklessness, he spoke into his radio again.  "You hear all that gunfire, Ames?  I almost died, but someone else did.  So for the last time, stay put… please."  He added after several seconds of silence.

      Amy sighed, but reluctantly agreed.  "Alright.  Just promise me you'll be careful."

      That promise is already blown, Sonic thought ruefully.  "You got it."  A beat, then he spoke though his radio again.  "Rouge, Knuckles, take the lead.  It's too dangerous down here for me to continue right now."

            _In the Kasatka…_

      "Comrade Commander, we still have visual on the SUV, still going due east."  The systems officer stated.

      "Understood."  Shadow answered.  "Continue the pursuit."

      A beat.  "Sir, we are being hailed over radio.  Possibly by the Customs Enforcement Blackhawks."  The systems officer announced.  "Your orders?"

      Well, at least they were following standard procedures, Shadow thought of the two Blackhawk choppers.  "Ignore them.  Continue the pursuit.  Our rules of engagement haven't changed."

      About a minute passed before one of the Blackhawks responded with a loudspeaker, loud enough for everyone in the Kasatka to hear.  "I repeat.  This is restricted airspace!  If you do not respond with in thirty seconds, we will open fire!"

      "We don't have time for this."  Shadow mumbled.  "We have to end this quickly, but we also want to avoid casualties.  Someone grab a Stinger missile launcher.  Aim for the rear rotors.  We intend to down them, not destroy them."

      "I thought our ROE was passive."  Wolf commented.

      "They've changed now."  Shadow quipped.

      Even as they prepped their Stinger launchers, the Blackhawk's loudspeaker continued to count down the seconds.  "10… 9… 8… 7… 6…"

      "Sir, Stinger launcher ready," a soldier announced with the single use launcher hefted upon his shoulder."

      "Good," Shadow answered.  "Be ready to fire quickly.  Any hesitation, and you'll be dead quickly."

      "3… 2… 1—OH, SHIT!!!!  EVADE!!  EVADE!!!"  The crewmember on the loudspeaker frantically screamed as he saw the Kasatka's starboard door open up and a Stinger missile fly out at them.  At that distance though, the chopper didn't stand a chance, and the missile hit the rear rotor, making the Blackhawk spin on its axis out of control, crash landing on a rooftop.

      At that moment, the crewmembers of the other Blackhawk opened fire on the Kasatka with their AR-15 assault rifles, mostly aiming for the cockpit area to try to incapacitate the pilots, however, the thick, bulletproof glass prevented any small arms fire from penetrating.  From the protection of the cabin, Shadow could see that in the position they were in, there was no way to fire any weapons from within the cabin without any of his men being shot.  Then, he remembered.  Before he departed from Vladivostok, his Kasatka was outfitted with two 80 mm rocket pods.  "Bring our rocket pods to bear."  He ordered.

      Gorevoy did a double take.  "But, Comrade Commander!  If we miss—"

      "I trust you won't miss.  Get to it!"

      "U-understood."  Gorevoy hesitated before bringing the Kasatka's nose to bear, toggling on the rocket pods, and firing a single rocket.  The projectile hit the Blackhawk, but instead of hitting the tail, it scored a direct hit on the cabin, killing all that were onboard, and sending the twisted, smoldering remains plummeting onto the streets of D.C.

            _On the ground…_

      "Holy sh…" Sonic started as he saw the Kasatka's rocket pods destroy the last Blackhawk.  Still running, he could no longer see Nack's SUV, but was now entirely trained on the Kamov chopper.  He went for his radio.  "You guys just now seeing that?"  Sonic asked.

      "Yeah," Knuckles answered.  "As a matter of fact, Rouge and I are right where the first chopper went down.  Fortunately, the crew only sustained light injuries."

      "What the hell's happening?!"  Dowell interjected.  "Are you saying that Kasatka shot down both Blackhawks?!"

      "That's an affirmative, boss."  Rouge answered.  "One of them was completely destroyed."  Boy, was CNN going to make them famous now.

      Dowell heaved a heavy sigh.  "Dammit… then we have no choice.  We're gonna have to shoot it down."

      "Even if it belongs to the Phantoms?"

      "Do we have any other choice?"

      That got Sonic thinking.  What if that Kasatka was a Phantom?  Then, maybe… "Hold on a sec!"

      "Wait for what, Sonic?!"  Dowell argued.  "That Kasatka's already killed four people!  We have no choice!"

      "Just trust me on this one and let me take care of this."  As an afterthought, he added.  "I just have a feeling about this…"

      Dowell heaved another sigh.  "Sonic, if you were anyone else, I would've said 'hell no'.  I hope you know what you're doing."

      Sonic chuckled lightly.  "So do I."  With that, he sped up, closing the distance between him and both the Kasatka and Nack's SUV.

            _Back at the Kasatka…_

      Wolf looked down at the wreckage of the Blackhawk through a window.  "Hmm, unfortunate."  He commented, then turned to Shadow.  "But, it was an 'us or them' situation.  Right Commander?"

      "That may be so," The helmet clad hedgehog answered.  "However, that's not how everyone else will see it.  I'm willing to bet that we're now marked for death, which is why we need to conclude our business here quickly."  Looking out the window, he could see that they were now close to the Potomac River.

      Wolf happened to catch Sonic running in his peripheral vision.  "Sir, Sonic is still in pursuit.  Your orders."

      Shadow thought for a moment.  "I don't want to cross swords with Sonic again, but it can't be helped."  He turned to a random soldier.  "I want you to do what you can to deter Sonic from continuing his pursuit.  But, **do not** kill him.  If you do, you'll answer to me."

      "Yes, Comrade Commander."

      "Comrade Commander!  Long range scanners have detected two bogeys on approach vector at high speeds."  The systems officer advised.

      "Probably from the Air National Guard… Gorevoy, use our main guns to deter the SUV, but check your fire.  We don't want anymore casualties."

      "Understood."

            _In the SUV…_

      "We're almost there, Nack."  Miller reassured.  "Our chopper's only a few blocks away now."

      The weasel didn't register on word the coyote was saying.  Instead, he was scanning the street behind them, making sure that Sonic didn't try to overtake them.  After half a minute, he sighted the hedgehog again.  He readied his AR-15.  "Oh, no you don't you dirty bas—"  The car jerked to one side unexpectedly, causing him to lose his balance.  He glanced back at Mason, the driver.  "What the hell's your problem?!"

      "We're taking fire from that damned Kasatka!"  Mason answered as tracers rained down in front of him from above.  "Hold tight!"

      The familiar sound of AK fire filled the air around Sonic, and the all-too-familiar sound of bullets hitting dangerously close to his person followed soon after.  He glanced up.  "What the hell!  They're firing at me now?!"  He reached for his radio.  "Guys, I'm taking it out.  They fired on me."  Not even waiting for a response, he picked up speed, proceeding to use his speed buildings from both sides of the street to wall jump until he was finally on the roof of one.  Then, letting out a yell, he took to the air for a homing attack on the Kasatka's rear rotor, the sound of him cutting the air akin to the sound of an artillery shell.

            _In the Kasatka…_

      "HE'S GOING FOR OUR REAR ROTOR!!!!"  Wolf all but spazzed out.  At the rate Sonic was closing, there would be no time for evasion.

      "Stand aside!"  Shadow yelled as he jumped out of the opened cabin door to launch a homing attack of his own at Sonic.  He intercepted him just before Sonic hit the Kasatka, their homing attacks canceling each other out, the sound of their collision akin to the sound of a sonic boom, and the two plummeted to a nearby rooftop.

      "Comrade Captain, what are our orders?"  Gorevoy asked amid the new developments.

      "We're to stand by."  Came his simple answer as he stared down at the confrontation that was sure to follow.  Whatever happens down there, Wolf would make sure he had his commander's, and friend's back.

Annnnnnd CUT!  I wanted to include the end of this scene in this chappie too, but I realized that this was a little long as-is.  Well, since you made it this far without clicking the "Back" button, why don't you leave a comment or two in the form of a review?  I wanna get this thing done before Christmas.  Peace!


	9. Hate The Traitor

Ho!  Ho!  Ho!  Merry—

Shadow:  You're a little late for that, Candy.

***veins popping from forehead*** FOR THE LAST TIME, DO NOT CALL ME THAT!!!! ***clears throat***  Anyways, yeah, I know this is a little late, but I gotta admit, this story's been a bear to write.  But, it's almost over.  Just one more chapter.

On an unrelated note, why is it that everyone but me has Sonic Heroes?!  Stupid Microsoft!  EB won't get it until the 28th, coincidently the day after I turn 22.

Shadow:  Old fart.

Oh, shaddup!  Anyways, guess who's now in the U.S. Army?

Shadow:  Oh great.  The army actually let in a geezer who's using a walker?!  Oh, this country's sunk.

… I didn't ask for your input, smartass.  Anyways, I ship for Basic Training in the middle of April, so I am gonna be hauling butt writing stuff.  Well, now to stop blowing hot air and get down to business.

Shadow:  Great, Gramps even has rambling down pat!

Shaddup!!

As usual, I'd like to thank everyone who put their two cents in, as well as the soundtrack to Command & Conquer:  Generals. *s**alutes***

            _Washington D.C.  U.S.A.  April 3, 2003.  1230 hours._

      As Sonic landed cleanly on the rock-covered roof some forty feet below, he could tell that his assailant landed behind him very close to him simultaneously.  Only going on the basis of self-preservation, he spun around and for the first time, brought his 9mm to bear, only for his opponent to synchronize his identical greeting.  One glance at his new foe confirmed his suspicions.

      As for Shadow, this was the last way he wanted to see his rival.  With some disappointment, he noticed that there was a look of mild surprise on Sonic's face.  As close as they were standing, their guns were less than a foot away from the other's face.  And the way they were standing in relation to the sun, he could faintly make out the chambered round in the barrel, and he theorized that it'd be the same vice versa.

      A quick glance at the helicopter overhead told Sonic that he'd better not do anything rash; he counted at least three Kalashnikov rifles trained at his person, and even he wasn't fast enough to outdistance those.  There was a period of awkward silence between them, only corrupted by Rouge and Knuckles' beckoning on his radio and the relentless beating of the Ka-60 Kasatka's rotors, which made the 15ºF wind chill feel even worse, especially to Sonic since unlike Shadow, he didn't have a concealing helmet on.  The cerulean hedgehog snorted.  "Why am I not surprised you're here, Shadow?"  He asked rhetorically, stressing his counterpart's name.

      Shadow made a slow movement to his helmet, hitting a small switch right below the chin protector, turning off the voice filter.  "Believe me, Sonic.  This is the last time and place I wanted to see you.  Hell, if I wanted to, I'd abort this mission right now."

      "So why don't you?"  Sonic demanded, his gun never wavering.  "Why not just let the proper authorities take care of this and—"

      Shadow laughed, amused.  "Oh, you're one to talk!  I may have been in a freezer for decades, but I read up on all of your exploits.  Tell me, when was the last time **you** went through the 'proper channels', huh?!"  He had abandoned drawing his gun at Sonic and was instead walking around aimlessly on the pebble-clad roof.  "Dating all the way back to your first encounter with Dr. Robotnik, you and your friends and allies acted by yourselves!  Hell, I'm willing to say that if you weren't intercepted by those CIA agents back in January, you would've acted unilaterally to try to resolve the situation!"

      Sonic too, had withdrawn his gun, and was now following Shadow on the rooftop.  "Heh, I'll admit to that."  Sonic conceded.  "However," he continued.  "There is a threshold that I wouldn't cross, and interfering in the affairs of a superpower is something I wouldn't touch!"

      "And that is why we exist!"  Shadow countered, turning to face Sonic.  "There is a threshold that nobody would dare cross.  However, for the POTCW, said threshold is much farther than anybody else's."

      "That recklessness is gonna be your downfall!"  Sonic spat.  After a while, he added.  "Listen, you're in way over your head here."

      Shadow looked up at his idling Kasatka.  Surely, Nack's vehicle has opened a huge lead on them.  "Listen, Sonic.  I don't have time for this.  I don't want to fight you, but I must complete my mission."  He leveled his gun back at Sonic.  "And if I must go through you to do so, then so be it!"

      Sonic acted likewise.  "The same applies to you, Shadow."

      For another minute, they both stood there, each gun in the other's face.  Despite his words, Shadow just couldn't find it in him to simply pull the trigger, not with himself and his rival at point blank range.  "It seems we are at an impasse," he commented.  Then, something in his peripheral vision alarmed him.  To his left, he could see Tails and Amy flying closer to his position, ducking in and out of cover to avoid detection.  This just may play to his advantage.  "And I'm surprised you brought Amy here, knowing full well how volatile this situation is."

      That caught Sonic off guard.  "What the hell?"  He turned around 180º, and he swore violently.  For some odd reason, he wasn't too surprised to see Tails and Amy go against his wishes.  "You two are gonna get me killed one of these days."  The rustle of steel on fabric made him turn back around… and right into the barrel of an entirely different gun drawn by Shadow.  Sonic realized he'd just fallen right into Shadow's plan.  "You bastard."

      "Sorry Sonic.  This time, I have to hit you."  With that, Shadow pulled the trigger, and with a loud bang, Sonic grunted, his lifeless body folding back onto the pebble-covered rooftop.

            "What is the meaning of this?!"  A Russian accented soldier demanded as he saw the scene unfold.  "The commander says we cannot kill him, but he does it anyway?!"

      Wolf watched with a measure of disbelief.  Surely, Shadow wouldn't kill Sonic, of all people, at point blank range!  But, after looking closer at the scene, he understood.  "He didn't kill him."  He simply stated.

      That got the entire cabin in a buzz.  "Captain, with all due respect, have you gone blind?"  An American accented soldier asked.  "Everyone here heard that gun discharge, even over this helo's propellers!"

      "He shot Sonic in the head, right?"  Wolf asked.  When everyone nodded in agreement, he continued.  "Now, do you see blood on him, or anywhere?"  When realization dawned on the rest of the crew, he continued.  "Yep, rubber bullets.  And one of those to the head at point-blank range will knock someone out—what the hell?!"

      "HAAAAAA!!!!"

      "What the—" Shadow barely had enough time to dodge before an oversized hammer drove him into the roof.  After he got clear of the immediate danger, he sized up his new assailant… and was surprised to see Amy, Piko Piko Hammer at the ready.  Now why was he feeling a little bit of fear right now?  Maybe because he hadn't seen her in action yet, and as an X-factor, didn't know just how dangerous she could be.  Or maybe it was the murderous look on her face, and the fact that for all she knew, Sonic was dead by his hands.  "Stand down.  This isn't what it seems—" He gasped, and so did Amy.  After he finished his confrontation with Sonic, he forgot to turn his voice filter back on.  And from the shocked and awed look on her face, Shadow could tell that his voice was still very familiar to her.

      "Sh-Shadow?"  Amy said weakly, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.  She was torn between elation that Shadow was indeed alive, and pure rage that Sonic was apparently dead by his hands.  Eventually, the latter won over.  "I-I thought you had changed after ARK."  One glance down at Sonic's seemingly lifeless body forced the first tears to fall down her cheeks.  "But then you turn around and kill the one I hold most dear… and the one who you once helped save the world…" Now the tears were falling freely.  "How could you…" Her voice was barely audile in the constant beating of the Kasatka's rotor blades.

       "Oh, boy."  Shadow muttered to himself.  He had to calm her down; otherwise this could get real ugly, real fast.  "Listen," He said to Amy.  "This isn't what it seems—"

      In her rage, reason didn't stand a chance.  "Save your lies!  You expect me to believe you after what I just saw?!"  Gripping her hammer even tighter.  "You are beyond redemption!"  She hissed, stressing every word.  "For Sonikku's sake, I will beat you!"

      Despite the gravity of the situation, Shadow just couldn't take her seriously.  "You've gotta be kidding me!"

      "We'll see about that!"  With a war cry, Amy rushed towards Shadow, who lazily jumped back avoided her first horizontal strike.  Her follow-up vertical strike missed when Shadow strafed to the side.  Still with a berserker rage induced head of steam going, she pressed on her attack.

      As many times Amy has missed him, Shadow was having a degree of difficulty staying out of her swinging arch.  Amy was surprising quick in melee combat, and due to the slippery bed of pebbles on the rooftop, he had to significantly degrade his foot speed, lest he wanted to lose his footing.  He jumped back to avoid another horizontal swing, when he lost his footing on the landing, and cursing his misfortune, slipped backwards onto his back, with Amy closing fast on him.

      "The commander's in serious danger!  We have to take the shot!"  A Georgian accented soldier argued.

      "Hold your fire!"  Wolf barked out.  "Like he said, anyone who kills any of Sonic's group will answer to him!"  And that probably meant a summary execution, he thought.

      "Then, what are we going to do, sir… sir?"  Too late.  By the time the soldier turned around, Wolf had already jumped out of the cabin to join the fray.

      Shadow had one last chance to get her to stand down before she smeared his internal organs all over the rooftop.  It wasn't so much the fact that he was likely going to die that worried him.  It was the fact that she was going to do something she'd highly regret once Sonic woke up.  "Listen to me!"  He pleaded desperately.  "This isn't what it seems!  If you—"

      "I don't wanna hear it!"  Amy spat.  How can you lie about shooting someone in the head?  "Your blatant lies won't work!"  As she raised her hammer, a heavy, solid weight rammed into her left side, sending her flying off balance and rolling on her side a few feet on the pebbles of the rooftop.

      "Whew!"  Wolf sighed in relief.  "That was too close."  He turned to Shadow.  "Are you hurt, sir?"

      Shadow chuckled.  "Just my pride.  And you can dispense with the formalities, Wolf.  She knows who I am."  That caught his friend off guard.  Looking over Wolf's shoulder, he could see Amy picking up her hammer.  "I doubt that textbook shoulder charge will take the fight out of her, and she won't listen to reason.  It would be wise to defend yourself, and don't underestimate her abilities.  Remember, she is not to be harmed."

      Wolf turned around to face his opponent.  He smiled at Shadow from over his shoulder.  "Just shut up and stay behind me… sir."  He set his sights back on Amy, and unsheathed his katana-style high frequency blade from the sheath on his back, twirling it a few times for show.  Oh yeah, she had plenty of fight left in her.  Disarming her would be a tall order.  "Listen, Miss Rose.  I don't want to hurt you.  You have one last chance to stand down."

      Amy sized up her new timber wolf adversary.  Just the fact that he was a wolf, with his natural strength made him a formidable opponent.  And the way he handled his weapon suggested he was a very competent swordsman.  "One who defends a murderer is just as bad as the murderer!  Get outta my way, or I'll go through you, too!"

      Heh, Shadow was right, Wolf thought.  She has lost it.  He reversed the cutting edge of his weapon, taking away its direct killing power, and got into a battle ready stance.  He thought he could stay defensive and drain the fight out of her by attrition.  "Sorry.  I can't do that.  I guess I'll have to make you see the truth.  If this is what you must do, come at me!"  And so, she did, closing into melee range surprisingly quick.  Her first strikes were parried with some difficulty; as light as her hammer seemed with the way she wielded it and her stature, it still carried with it the momentum of a sledgehammer.  If he wasn't careful, her blocked vertical strikes could bring the cutting edge of his H.F. katana down on himself.  He strafed away from a vertical strike, and sensing a quick resolution, he turned on an electrical current inside the blade, electrifying it, then brought the non cutting edge to bear for a horizontal strike.  The current wasn't anywhere powerful enough to kill a live being, but able to stun.  In an automatic defense, Amy brought her hammer back up, successfully blocking the attack, the rubber grip on her hammer effectively killing the electrical current.  Wolf cursed.  She wasn't half bad in a duel.  This could be a long duel, which wasn't good since he didn't forget about Nack.

      "Not bad."  Amy commented, between gasps of air.

      "You're a lot tougher than I expected."  Wolf replied as he switched off the useless stun current.  From first glance, it seemed that fatigue was starting to set in on her.  Maybe, just maybe, he could get through to her.  "But, this is a fight you simply cannot win!"

      "I can win… and for Sonikku's sake, I will!"  With that, Amy went back on the offensive, bringing her hammer back for another vertical strike.

      "You telegraphed that one!"  Wolf commented as he spun out of the way.

      Little did he know, that was exactly what Amy wanted him to do.  The vertical strike was actually a feint, and instead of bringing her hammer down all the way, Amy swung horizontally in a wide arch into an unsuspecting Wolf, who could do nothing but swear viciously as her hammer slammed into his side, sending him flying some five yards before hitting the pebble-covered rooftop.  Going for the endgame, Amy leapt in the air, cocking her hammer behind her back.

      Lucky for Wolf, that blow wasn't as hard as it could've been.  Still, being fooled by that textbook feint Amy just pulled injured his pride.  He wasn't that dazed… at least he was aware enough to see Amy coming down on him with her hammer.  "No more games!"  He declared and he rolled away just as Amy brought down her hammer to where he once was laying.  In one smooth motion, he finished rolling, got into a crouched position, and swung low with the non-cutting edge of his H.F. katana, figuratively cutting her legs out from under her.  Before she could even recover, Wolf was standing over her, the tip of his blade holding steady mere inches from her neck.  Now that it seemed that Amy finally got the picture and conceded defeat, he breathed a sigh of relief.  "Okay, let's try this again.  If you 'd let Shadow finish the first time, you would've saved us all a lot of trouble, and me a lot of pain.  Sonic.  Is.  Not.  Dead."  He explained, stressing the last four words in hoping that she comprehended.

      Amy gasped.  "What?!"  Still, she didn't let her guard down.

      "Look," Wolf gestured over his shoulder to where Sonic still lay.  "Shadow shot him in the head, right?  Well, do you see any blood?"

      Amy felt guilty now.  How did she not see that?  She couldn't even form the words to explain how sorry she was for accusing someone who she knew was good in his heart, of reverting back to evil.  Finally, Wolf let her up, and Amy put her hammer away.  "Shadow… I… I…"

      "It's okay."  The black hedgehog answered.  "I'm just fortunate nobody else got hurt."

      She nodded.  "So am I."  She looked the wolf she'd just recently been dueling with.  "I'm sorry I attacked you."

      "Don't worry about it."  Wolf answered, and with a few flashy twirls of his H.F. katana, returned it to its sheath strapped on his back.

      Shadow glanced over at Sonic's knocked out form.  "I shot him with a concussion round.  He may have a big headache when he wakes up and a welt on his forehead for a couple of weeks, but he'll be up and about in a few hours."

      "But why'd you have to shoot him?"  Amy asked.\

      "Heh, I'll tell you why."  Wolf began.  "Because both of them are too proud to back down to each other."

      "AMY!!!!!"  A familiar voice screamed over the sound of the Kasatka's rotors.

      "Hmm, here comes the cavalry, at last."  Wolf commented upon seeing Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge finally reach the rooftop.  "You're late, guys!  Sonic's already out cold and you left Miss Rose here to die for about three minutes!"

      Knuckles' eyes went wide at Sonic's still form.  "What the hell!  Sonic's down!"

      "Don't worry."  Shadow began.  "He isn't permanently injured—dammit!"  Forgot to turn on that voice filter again.

      "Shadow?!"  Rouge, Knuckles, and Tails gasped in unison.

      "Oh, what the hell…" Shadow said and flipped up the visor on his helmet.  "I have some explaining to do, so hold your questions.  Yes, I'm alive.  And that's to remain between us."

      "But, we have to tell Sonic!"  Tails argued.

      "Don't waste your energy.  We met in January."

      Realization hit Amy, and she gasped.  "So you're the one who helped Sonikku beat Metal!"  When Shadow nodded, her voice became apologetic.  "Wow… I feel even sorrier for lashing out on you."

      "Do not blame yourself, Amy."  Shadow said, the tone of his voice implying that he was smirking behind the helmet he was wearing.  "As the Ultimate Life Form, it would've been on me if you actually did do me in."  He laughed a little at that.  "Not only that, but it was I who clued Sonic in on that G.U.N. shipment onboard the _Rakshasa_."  As the rest of the group soaked in this new information with gasps and looks of disbelief, he waited a moment before continuing.  "I thought that if he reported it to your superiors, then we'd let the pieces fall as it may.  I never imagined that we'd be trying to accomplish the same mission, but for different entities."

      "What's going on?!  Rouge!  Sonic!  Somebody respond!  Over!"  Scott Dowell's voice blared on everyone's radio except for Shadow's and Wolf's.

      "Dammit… now what?"  Wolf asked.  Looking toward the east, he could see another helicopter retreat towards the eastern horizon.  "There's no mistaking that Nack and his G.U.N. friends have already gotten into their chopper."

      "Hmm…"  Shadow turned on another voice filter in his helmet.  This one gave him a Russian accented, cyborgish voice.  "I would like a word with your superiors.  Someone hand me their radio."  When the group gave each other looks of uncertainty, Shadow reiterated.  "Hurry!  This just may be our best chance to capture Nack, and we may be the only ones who can still accomplish that!  We've no time for deliberations!"

      Rouge reluctantly plucked her radio out of its holster.  "I don't know what you're planning, but here."  She tossed it lazily over to Shadow, who immediately switched it on.

      "We need to talk."  Shadow said simply.

      The new, strange voice definitely caught Scott off guard.  "What the—what happened to my team?"

      "That is not important right now.  What is important is that I'd like to offer a deal."

      "Identify yourself!"  Scott demanded.

      Shadow hesitated for a brief moment.  "My name, per se, is not important.  However, I am the commander of the team of PoTCW on this mission.  I'd like to propose a deal."

      "Tell me what happened to my team, Phantom!"

      Shadow sighed.  It seemed this wouldn't get any further if he didn't divulge that information.  "Your team is alive and well.  However, Sonic has been temporarily incapacitated.  Do not worry; he'll be up and about in a few hours time.  Now back to the matter at hand.  Nack and his G.U.N. squad have already reached a waiting helicopter, and are already airborne.  At this point, it is safe to say that only my people have a chance to catch him.  There also seems to be two jet fighters inbound on intercept course.  I already know their target is the gunship that breached Washington's restricted airspace.  Therefore, I propose that you call off those jet fighters.  In exchange, we will bring Nack to you as soon as we are finished with our interrogations."

       Scott scoffed on the other end.  "You expect me to negotiate with a group that breached D.C. airspace, shot down two Blackhawk choppers, killing all the crew on one, not to mention causing utter chaos?!  You must take me—hold on" the ringing of a phone put him on alert, it being the hotline from Langley.  This must be important.  He picked up the phone.  "This is Dowell."

       On the other side, the Director of the CIA, Thomas Wade, responded.  "Dowell, this may seem insane, but I say that we go along with it.  Now before you go ballistic over there, let me explain.  Military officials inside the Pentagon have reported that the situation in the Persian Gulf is deteriorating.  President Dugan has decided to proceed with the military buildup, and I got a feeling an ultimatum is.  Despite the situation with G.U.N., if we all of a sudden pull our troops out, this may make Washington look pretty silly.  Meanwhile, we have an organization that's willing to keep G.U.N. and Robotnik busy, hopefully until our business in the Gulf is resolved, whenever that may be."

      "We'll be looking pretty stupid anyway when all of G.U.N.'s units defect to Robotnik!"

      "I know, Scott.  I don't think that can be avoided."  Wade said ruefully.  What we can do is limit the amount of face Washington will lose.  Either way, this situation will make us look bad."

      The bloodhound groaned.  "… I don't like this."

      "Neither do I, but this situation is already out of control.  We've already lost one operative today, and we don't want any more casualties.  This business has to be resolved quickly!"

      "Did you forget that they destroyed two U.S. Customs Blackhawk choppers!"

      "Of course, we will demand compensation from PoTCW leadership immediately."

      "But what if the Phantoms renege on this deal?  What if they don't turn Nack over to us?"

      A long silence hung over Wade's end before he answered with a sigh.  "We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there.  Accept their proposal, and that's an order!  The F-15s sortied to intercept the Kasatka have already aborted their mission."

      "Yes, sir!"  With that, Scott heard Wade hang up on his end, and he took a long drag on his almost burned out cigarette.  "I don't like this one bit."  He switched back to his radio.  "About how long do you expect to interrogate Nack?"  Dowell asked.  "You do realize that he is an enemy of the State, right?"

      "As long as it takes."  Shadow answered, still in his synthesized voice.  "I cannot make any promises on when he'll outlive his usefulness with us.  Nevertheless, we will turn him over to you to answer for any and all offenses against the State."

      Dowell didn't like this at all.  No promise of a timetable.  He finished off his cigarette before speaking.  "If it were up to me, I wouldn't allow it.  But, it isn't.  My superiors have allowed you carte blanche to complete your mission.  But, I warn you:  do not fail."

      "A wise decision, Operative."  With that, Shadow switched off the radio, and lobbed it back to Rouge.  "It seems I've established an agreement with your superiors, Rouge.  I wish this reunion would've come under better circumstances, but we must depart."

      "Shadow," Rouge began.  "I don't wanna doubt you or anything, but your Kasatka's here, and the G.U.N. chopper is **way**… we can't even see it anymore!"  She exclaimed as she gestured to where the chopper would have been in the eastern sky.  "You don't have a chance of catching that thing!"

      "Oh, no?"  If his helmet were off, everyone would have seen the smuggest of smirks on Shadow's face as he reached into his field gear and produced the gray Chaos Emerald, nonchalantly flipping it in the air a bit with one hand.

      "A Chaos Emerald!"  Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge exclaimed in unison.

      "Where'd you find that?!"  Knuckles demanded.

      "One of my patrols came across it near the Russo-Chinese border some 24 hours after the ARK incident."  Wolf answered.  "Not too far away, we also found Shadow barely hanging on to life.  After three weeks in the infirmary, he was back to full health.  Small miracle now that I think about it."

      "We don't have time to reminisce, Wolf."  Shadow chastised.  He signaled for his Kasatka to touch down, and when it did, he and Wolf prepared to get on board.  Before Shadow got inside the cabin, he gave one final word to his former comrades over the beating of the helicopter's rotors.  "Remember, my existence is to remain classified!  I have a feeling we'll meet again, so I'll be watching you."  With that, he and Wolf boarded the chopper, and the gunship ascended some fifty feet off the rooftop.  Afterwards, the first blue sparks and bolts of the Chaos Control field spawned, and the entire Kasatka was soon after engulfed in the spherical field.  Moments later, the field disappeared, along with its contents.

      A long, awkward followed between the four still standing on the rooftop.  Finally, Rouge switched on her radio.  "Well, now what, Boss?  I guess we're to stand down?"

      "Seems that way."  Dowell answered on the other side.  "Everyone hold their position.  We have a medical chopper to pick up Sonic.  After he's cleared to leave the hospital, we're to report back to HQ for debriefing… this is not gonna be good."

      "Copy that, Boss."

            _Near the coast of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.  1250 hours._

       "And to your left is beautiful Chesapeake Bay."  The pilot of the G.U.N. UH-1 Huey helicopter jokingly announced as the chopper made the transition from land to sea.  Finally, it seemed that the mission was over.  Nobody was pursuing them, since their pursuers seemed to have a disagreement over who would be capturing them, and Nack only seemed too happy.  Now, there was a matter about his money…

      "The job's done, now when do I get paid?"  Nack asked.

      "You're just as anxious as anybody to get their hands on a cool $30 million, aren't you?"  Raymond Miller laughed.  "You'll be paid as soon as we rendezvous with the submarine Beowulf π.  That's where you'll be getting off.  There'll be another recovery craft for—"

      "New contact on radar!"  The Huey's copilot announced.  "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"

      "What?!  What?!"  Panic once again set in for Nack.  Once he saw the new contact through the cockpit, his pupils dilated.  The very same Ka-60 Kasatka that pursued them over D.C. was now in full view in front of them.  "You're shittin' me, right?  But, but, how—"

      "Were you in a coma during the ARK incident?"  Raymond muttered grimly.  "I think this is what the guys in the lab called Chaos Control… but the only ones that have been known to use it are Sonic and…" he trailed off and realization hit him.  "So, he's still alive after all."

      "Comrade Commander, we have our target at 12 o'clock."  Gorevoy announced.  "Shall we hail them?"

      Shadow nodded.  "Yes.  Tell them to surrender—"

      "RPG incoming!"  The systems officer warned.

      "Nack!  What the hell!"  Miller exclaimed.

      "I didn't come this far to $30 million just to be denied!"  Nack spat as he grabbed the lone RPG launcher in the gunship.  "Now stand aside!"  After he shrugged off the coyote, he opened one of the Huey's doors, took aim at the Kasatka, and fired for effect.

      "There's no time to evade!"  Gorevoy shouted.

      "Here we go again."  Shadow mumbled as he again fished out his Chaos Emerald.  "Chaos Control!"  Once again, the Kasatka was enveloped by the Chaos Control field, only to disappear just before the RPG passed through its former position, and reappear mere yards away.  "That was too close."  Now, he had to think about the safety of himself and his men.  "Send that gunship to the bottom of the bay!"

      Wolf's eyes went wide in surprise.  "Sir!  Did you forget that our package is on that chopper?!"

      Shadow smirked inside his helmet.  "If Nack has the sense of self-preservation that I think he does, he'll jump.  Someone grab a Stinger missile launcher and bring that gunship down!"

      "Already on it."  A Ukrainian accented soldier responded, lifting the launcher on his soldier and opening the cabin door.

      "Now what, genius?"  Miller berated.  "That was our only RPG!"

      Desperate to try anything, Nack reached for his AR-15.  "Then gimme my—OH, SHIT!!  RPG!!!!"  Sure enough, the Stinger missile was bearing down on them, its white-hot rocket exhaust glowing like the Sun.  At this range, there was no chance of evading it.  Acting in the interest of self-preservation, Nack decided to take his chances in the icy cold waters of Chesapeake Bay and jumped, just mere moments ahead of the Stinger missile hitting the Huey chopper, and the spectacular explosion afterwards.

      "Sir, the package did bail."  Gorevoy noted Shadow.

      A big sigh of relief resounded throughout the cabin.  Mission accomplished.  "Excellent.  Swoop down and reel in our catch… he just may be the key to Robotnik's R&D secrets."

      Nack resurfaced from the chilling waters of Chesapeake Bay, some mere seconds before the burning, twisted wreckage of the Huey he was flying in hit the water near him.  Above, he could see the Kasatka swooping down to bring him in, the lower it descended, the more the water around him rippled, and the colder the air seemed to get.  He could offer no resistance, just the meek raising of his hands in surrender as the soldiers onboard the gunship kept their AK-74s trained on him.  And as they pulled him onboard and secured him, Wolf gave him the words that will set the tone for the next few months of his life.  "Welcome to Hell… comrade."

Aaaaannnnnnnd cut!  Okay, folks!  That's a wrap!  Now—

Tails:  Canderous!  Our bill just came!

Huh? ***Reads through it, then body goes numb*** Wh-what!?  $50 million dollars?!

Tails:  Yep.  That includes renting Homestead and that F-16, that Kasatka, that destroyed Huey, travel arrangements, and all the pyros we used.

Oh, boy… Tails grab the crew and send them to downtown Cincinnati to panhandle.  I'm gonna need some help paying for this sucker.

Alright!  Final chapter is coming up real soon.  Don't worry, I got another story in the works right now… yeesh, I still can't believe it took me almost a year to finish this… oh, well.  Anyways, just leave your comments and such in the form of a review, and I'll be most appreciative.  Peace!


	10. Glancing To The Horizon

Whew!  I actually got a portion of this story up in a timely manner!  Too bad it was the last chapter, huh?  Anyways, to Nack fans, you think I'll let him go out like that?!  Heck no!  Nothing short of Alcatraz is able to keep him captive, let alone a ragtag band of mercs!  Don't worry; he'll be getting some payback in my next story…

Just one final note before we start, dialogue in italics means whatever's being said is being spoken in Russian, since I don't know a word of the language.

Okay, here we go!  The beginning of the end, at last!

            _Washington D.C. U.S.A.  George Washington University Hospital, Room 423.  April 3, 2003.  1506 hours._

      The sweet bliss of unconsciousness slipped away, and Sonic's world became one big box of pain as a massive headache hit with full force in his first moments of coming to.  He nearly cried out, surprised at its intensity, but remembered himself and suppressed his reaction.  His eyes fluttered open, slowly so that a sudden flood of light wouldn't blind him.  He already knew he was in a bed, and from his position, a small TV turned on could be seen by the far wall suspended on the off-white ceiling.  In his lower peripheral vision, he instantly recognized a hospital tray overhanging low over his bed.  Now he remembered how he ended up here.  "Ungh… a knockout round… the bastard wasn't even serious with me."  With a grunt, he sat up and got out of bed to head out the door…

      … Only for a pair of arms to abruptly embrace him from behind some two steps into his bid for freedom.  Apparently, Amy was sitting in a chair next to his bed.  "Y'know, I'm glad to see you're still alive, but I really don't think you should move that quick."

      Sonic scoffed.  "… Right… I made it outta bed, right?  So—whoa!  Dizzy!  Dizzy!"  Moreover, that headache of his seemed to grow in intensity, as if that were possible.

      In haste, she shifted herself so that the brunt of Sonic's weight was leaning against her.  Nonetheless, the tone in her voice couldn't hide the smirk on her face.  "Uh-huh.  Sat up too quick, did we?  Remember, I'm the one studying in the medical field!"

      "Ungh… yeah, well there are always exceptions to the rule."

      She giggled.  "And apparently, you aren't one of them."  She said as she sat him down on the side of the bed.

      "How long was I out?"

      She glanced at the clock on the wall.  "About three and a half hours… and before you ask, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge went to the cafeteria to get some lunch.  They should be coming back soon."

      Sonic nodded in comprehension.  "Well, at least everyone else is okay… did Nack get away?"

      "Uhh… not exactly…"

      He blinked.  "What does 'not exactly' mean?"

      At this point, Rouge, Knuckles, and Tails, in that order, walked in, and closed the door.  "It means while we don't have custody over him, the PoTCW does."  Rouge explained.  Before continuing, she quieted her voice.  "And it looks like our old buddy Shadow is still alive and well."

      With his massive headache, Sonic didn't even attempt to feign a look of bewilderment.  "I knew that two months ago." He simply said.

      "Well, why didn't you say so back in January?!"  Knuckles demanded.

      "'Cause I didn't want to be committed to a loony bin!"  Sonic snapped back, although the throbbing in his head made him regret the loud outburst and he winced.  "You, Amy, and Tails heard me rant nonstop about the possibility of Shadow somehow surviving reentry.  If I 'd told you, y'all wouldn't have believed me in the least."  A beat.  "Besides, I'm banking that Shadow gave you guys the whole 'my existence is to remain classified' runaround, right?"  He gingerly shook his head in resignation, minding the headache he had.  "Anyways, what's done is done.  I can't turn back time now."

      "We still would've believed you, Sonikku."  Amy said with hint of sadness in her voice.  "You've never broken our trust before, so we have no reason to doubt you."

      "Yeah, well, sorry."  Sonic apologized.  "The story just seemed too surreal for even me to believe at first, so if I didn't believe it after seeing it with my own eyes, I didn't think y'all would.  Even if Shadow didn't say that his existence was classified, I don't think I'd have said anything.  Keep in mind that he shot out my camera during Operation Blackbeard.  I had nothing but my eye witness."

      "Anyway, we need to see about getting you checked out."  Rouge started.  "Boss wants us in Langley ASAP for debrief.  We can talk about it then."

      "Fine by me… but I really need some Tylenol first."  Sonic groaned yet again in discomfort.  He was going to kick Shadow in his neck for this headache.

            _Langley, Virginia U.S.A.  CIA Headquarters, Conference Room A.  1600 hours._

      "Ladies and gentlemen, the shit has officially hit the fan."  Thomas Wade, Director of the CIA began.  All partakers in the mission, Scott Dowell included, were in the room for debriefing.  "The bulk of our military strength is now half a world away.  And now, although our operation to capture Nack was a failure, we still have all the evidence we need to move on Bloodman.  Only problem is, he is no longer in the United States.  NORAD detected his private jet taking off, and has vectored its course to Oceania, where everyone knows Dr. Robotnik's enclave is located.  London, Paris, Berlin, and the rest of our NATO allies are reporting a total exodus of G.U.N. units under their control, and our situation is no different than theirs.  As of now, Bloodman has been branded an Enemy of the State in every single NATO country."

      "What of the Phantoms?"  Rouge asked.  "Have we had any contact since this mission ended?"

      "We've had one communiqué from Admiral Grishenkov, their CO, mirroring the promise to turn Nack over to our custody as soon as he outlived his usefulness to them.  You know what, this actually works to our advantage.  With U.S. and British forces massing in the Persian Gulf, the Phantoms do have the military capacity to mount successful operations against Robotnik, but only for a limited time.  However, we should be finished in the Gulf before the Phantoms reach their operational limits."

      A beat.  Then, Sonic spoke.  "Y'know, if we already had all we needed to move against Bloodman before this little mission, why did we still go on with it?  We needlessly and vainly sacrificed the life of an operative."

      "I am just as sorry as the rest of you are that Donald died in this mission, but this operation wasn't just about Bloodman, Sonic."  Wade answered.  "Remember, Nack was once an agent of Robotnik's.  There's no telling what intelligence he had about him.  Anyway, now that the Phantoms have Nack in their custody, we'll have to monitor their activities closely.  And we'll have to make arrangements for Donald's funeral.  If there's nothing else, then this debriefing is over.  You're all dismissed."

      Outside the room, Scott had already left to attend to some paperwork and bid his farewells to the group.  The group of Sonic, Amy, Tails, Rouge, and Knuckles were now outside the building, heading for Rouge's car.  "You didn't tell him about Shadow."  Rouge said in a hushed tone as they walked.

      "We didn't need to."  Sonic simply stated.  "Besides, I'm not gonna to betray him, even if he shot me."

      They got into her car and drove off.  The Miami group (Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles) had packed their suitcases and stowed them in the trunk before they left for Langley before the mission, and so they didn't have to backtrack to Rouge's place.  The drive to the airport was a quiet, somber one, as the realization of a failed mission set in.  As the first terminals came into view, Rouge finally spoke.  "If the Agency wants to monitor the PoTCW closely, it'll probably mean another confrontation with Shadow.  I don't want to force you guys into this, but—"

      "Don't worry about it."  Sonic said reassuringly.  "If you think anything you're getting sent into may run you into Shadow, let us—let me know—"

      "Heeey!  You're not exactly alone here!"  Amy said, elbowing him in the ribs.

      "Well, I didn't want to speak for y'all!"

      "Oh, c'mon, Sonikku!  You know that we're all behind you to the end!"

      "I said this once, and I'll say this again, Sonic."  Knuckles said, smirking.  "I will follow you into the depths of Hell."

      Tails laughed.  "As the Red Guard in Command & Conquer:  Generals say," he cleared his throat, aiming for the best Chinese accent he could muster.  "We stand together!"

      Sonic chuckled.  "You guys… alright then.  I guess it's settled.  Just name the spot, and we'll be there a half hour early."

      Rouge smiled.  "Thanks for the support, guys."  She parked the car next to a terminal, and popped open the trunk, allowing the others to get out and claim their luggage.  "Well, I guess this is your stop.  Stay in touch!"

      "Will do!  And next time you wanna get together for an operation, make sure the weather's decent."  Sonic jokingly carped.

      "Heh.  Will do!"  As the others unloaded their luggage, closed her trunk, and walked into the airport with a final wave, she could tell that the next few months would be very interesting for the global community.

            _Somewhere in south central Russia.  PoTCW Base Alpha, Brigadier General Petrov's office.  April 4, 2003.  0410 hours local time._

      With his helmet completely off, Shadow watched the General's face carefully as he read through the report he had written.  So far, he could make out no emotion on the old officer's face.  No anger at the lives needlessly ended, or at the fact that the entire incident was televised on every news station in every country in the world.  Of course, Shadow did leave out some choice parts, like when he compromised his identity to the rest of Sonic's group.

      Some five minutes after he started reading through the report, General Petrov looked up at Shadow.  _"You were ordered explicitly to avoid collateral damage, Commander."_  He stated.

      _"That was unavoidable, Comrade General."_  Shadow replied.  He had to thank Wolf for those lessons in Russian.  _"Unless you'd rather have us die there, and Nack escape."_

      Petrov laughed.  _"No, of course not!  I am happy that you and your team accomplished your objectives."_  His voice dropped back to a serious tone before he continued._  "I just wish that the price was not quite so high.  I would prefer that you not destroy two gunships in a foreign capital!  And I know that our missions are accomplished at all costs.  However, there is still a level of discretion to be considered.  We are not completely reckless in our operations.  After all, we are not barbarians."_

_      "Well, if you made capturing Nack this high a priority, then the intel he holds must justify the means."_

Petrov sighed.  _"I hope your right, Commander… meanwhile, I must write a letter of apology to Washington.  I pray this doesn't fray our relations there."  _

_     "Actually, that shouldn't happen."  _Shadow said.  _"It's no secret that U.S. and British forces are massing in the Persian Gulf_._  If anything, they'll have to rely on us more than ever to keep Eggman on his toes during this needless infighting."_

      _"Hmm… agreed."  _Petrov conceded.  _"But, do not think this gives us carte blanche to do anything we want."_

_      "I never conceived the thought."_  Shadow said, shaking his head.

      _"Good.  At any rate, make sure our…'special guest' is guarded around the clock.  I've heard that CIA agents are trained to break out of prisons.  And if there's nothing else, then you are dismissed."_

_      "Yes, Comrade General."_  Saluting once more, Shadow spun on his heels and made his way out of the office sure of only one thing:  the next year was going to be very interesting.  And if operations against Dr. Robotnik were going to step up, then another confrontation with Sonic and his friends was more than probable.  Hopefully, just hopefully, things wouldn't go violent next time.

Whew… I can't believe it took me almost a year to finish this thing.  And man, this ending reeks of a rush job, doesn't it?  I guess it's because I'm anxious to start something new.  My next story shouldn't take so long, seeing as I wanna finish it before I go to basic training.  Next story:  Pandora Guardian.  Look for it within a week.  Peace!


End file.
